Hamas rejects Guterres’s 7th October statement, accuses him of adopting Israeli narrative

Hamas on Tuesday rejected a statement by UN Secretary-General António Guterres marking the anniversary of the 7th October 2023 attack, accusing him of adopting Israel’s account of events and disregarding the broader context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In a statement, Hamas said Guterres’s remarks contained what it described as “fallacies proven false” and disregarded established facts, calling on the UN chief to retract what the group termed “fabrications.”

Hamas also criticised what it described as Guterres’s “softened language” in addressing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and its impact on the Palestinian population.

The statement came in response to remarks by Guterres marking the 7th October anniversary, in which he described the Palestinian-led attack on Israel as “horrific and large-scale terrorism.” He said civilians had been deliberately killed and referred to reports of sexual violence and abuses against Israeli hostages.

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Guterres also addressed the impact of the subsequent hostilities on Palestinians in Gaza, saying they had endured “unspeakable suffering,” including extensive loss of life, displacement and widespread destruction.

Hamas rejected allegations concerning the deliberate targeting of civilians, sexual violence and mistreatment of Israeli hostages, saying such accounts had been contradicted by human rights reports, investigative journalism and other evidence.

The group described Guterres’s statement as “a reprehensible adoption” of what it called a “false and misleading Zionist narrative,” accusing him of presenting the 7th October  attack without its historical context.

Hamas said the statement disregarded what it described as decades of occupation, blockade and violations against Palestinians, their land, religious sites and prisoners.

The group also argued that Guterres’s remarks denied Palestinians’ right to defend themselves and resist Israeli occupation under international law.

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