Hamas condemns mass killing of Copts in Egypt

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip condemned the killing and wounding of tens of Egyptian Copts yesterday morning, the Al-Resalah newspaper reported.

Immediately after the incident, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a press release:

The killing of the Egyptian Copts…is a heinous and highly condemned crime aiming to destabilise security and safety of Egypt and to create racist and sectarian hatred.

Barhoum added: “The only beneficiary of these acts are the enemies of Egypt and the enemies of the whole world.”

A funeral ceremony held for Saint Samuel’s Monastery attack victims Cercis Mahrous and Beshavi Ibrahim, at Maghagha Church in Cairo, Egypt on May 26, 2017 [Ahmed Al Sayed / Anadolu Agency]

In response, Egyptian air forces attacked targets in Libya. “Now, we have hit training camps used by those terrorists…Egypt will not hesitate to target these terror camps anywhere,” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said in a televised speech.

Al-Sisi did not mention the place of the targeted camps, but Egypt’s state broadcaster reported that the jets struck six “terror bases” in neighbouring Libya.

Read: Egypt’s Coptic Christians face persecution at home and apathy abroad

People attend the funeral ceremony held for eight victims of the Saint Samuel’s Monastery attack in Egypt’s southern Minya province, Cairo, Egypt on May 26, 2017 [Ahmed Al Sayed / Anadolu Agency]

People attend the funeral ceremony held for eight victims of the Saint Samuel’s Monastery attack in Egypt’s southern Minya province, Cairo, Egypt on May 26, 2017 [Ahmed Al Sayed / Anadolu Agency]

Relatives of Saint Samuel’s Monastery attack victims Cercis Mahrous and Beshavi Ibrahim mourn during a funeral ceremony at Maghagha Church in Cairo, Egypt on May 26, 2017 [Ahmed Al Sayed / Anadolu Agency]

Relatives of Saint Samuel’s Monastery attack victims Cercis Mahrous and Beshavi Ibrahim mourn during a funeral ceremony at Maghagha Church in Cairo, Egypt on May 26, 2017 [Ahmed Al Sayed / Anadolu Agency]

Relatives of Saint Samuel’s Monastery attack victims Cercis Mahrous and Beshavi Ibrahim mourn during a funeral ceremony at Maghagha Church in Cairo, Egypt on May 26, 2017 [Ahmed Al Sayed / Anadolu Agency]

Relatives of Saint Samuel’s Monastery attack victims Cercis Mahrous and Beshavi Ibrahim mourn during a funeral ceremony at Maghagha Church in Cairo, Egypt on May 26, 2017 [Ahmed Al Sayed / Anadolu Agency]

A funeral ceremony held for Saint Samuel’s Monastery attack victims Cercis Mahrous and Beshavi Ibrahim, at Maghagha Church in Cairo, Egypt on May 26, 2017 [Ahmed Al Sayed / Anadolu Agency]

Relatives of Saint Samuel’s Monastery attack victims Cercis Mahrous and Beshavi Ibrahim mourn during a funeral ceremony at Maghagha Church in Cairo, Egypt on May 26, 2017 [Ahmed Al Sayed / Anadolu Agency]

People carry the coffins of Saint Samuel’s Monastery attack victims Cercis Mahrous and Beshavi Ibrahim during a funeral ceremony, at Maghagha Church in Cairo, Egypt on May 26, 2017 [Ahmed Al Sayed / Anadolu Agency]

People attend the funeral ceremony held for eight victims of the Saint Samuel’s Monastery attack in Egypt’s southern Minya province, Cairo, Egypt on May 26, 2017 [Ahmed Al Sayed / Anadolu Agency]

People attend the funeral ceremony held for eight victims of the Saint Samuel’s Monastery attack in Egypt’s southern Minya province, Cairo, Egypt on May 26, 2017 [Ahmed Al Sayed / Anadolu Agency]