Hamas Says: ‘Tunnels for Us, Not For Civilians’
By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos
GAZA/JERUSALEM (Worthy News)— Senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk says the tunnels his fighters build are for themselves and not to hide civilians despite thousands reportedly dying in Israeli air strikes provoked by them.
In televised remarks obtained by Worthy News, he was asked: “You built 500 kilometers (310 miles) of tunnels in Gaza; why didn’t you build shelters for civilians from the attacks?”
Abu Marzouk responded: “The tunnels are for us (the people of Hamas). The citizens in the Gaza Strip are under the responsibility of the United Nations and Israel!”
Israel has accused Hamas of deliberately hiding between civilians and using them and hostages as human shields.
Hamas has also fired rockets at Israel from or nearby civilian sites, including hospitals, Israeli officials say.
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 8,500 people have died since Israel’s retaliatory bombing began after the October 7 attacks that killed 1,400 people and saw at least 239 people kidnapped as hostages in Israel.
However, Israel can’t expect all neighbors to come to its rescue, including Lebanon, where the government made clear it will not intervene in operations by Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets into Israel from Lebanese territory.
In a television interview monitored by Worthy News, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib stated: “We cannot afford to have a real dispute with Hezbollah because it would lead to civil war.”
He added that, “we would rather have a regional war than an unending civil war,” with Hezbollah, designated as a “terrorist organization” by Israel and most Western countries.
Lebanon suffered under a bloody civil war in the past.