Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk claimed that Hamas did not anticipate Israel’s response to its October 7 massacre, according to a translation of an interview given to Egypt’s Alghad TV on Thursday by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

Asked by the interviewer, “When the [al-Qassam] brigades did what they did on October 7, did they have any expectations regarding the consequences of the attack?” Marzouk responded that nobody had anticipated Israel’s response. 

“Nobody in the whole world expected them to be so barbaric,” Marzouk said. “And in Such violation of all international laws, treaties, and norms. Nobody expected the [Israeli response] to be so barbaric because, ultimately, the resistance fights soldiers. It is not fighting civilians with planes and tanks.”