Residents of the Nuseirat refugee camp expressed their anger on Saturday following an interview aired by the Saudi-owned Al-Hadath channel with Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, in which he talked about the daring raid that led to the rescue of four hostages held by the Hamas terrorist organization since Oct. 7.
الناطق العام في حديث مع قناة @AlHadath ينفي أكاذيب حماس عن استخدام الرصيف الأمريكي العائم خلال العملية لتحرير المختطفين من قلب النصيرات pic.twitter.com/3SVz07d7eA
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) June 8, 2024
In the interview, broadcast late Saturday night, Brig. Gen. Hagari denied claims that special forces had entered the Nuseirat area disguised as humanitarian aid vehicles. He also refuted allegations that the forces had used the US-built floating pier in any capacity during the operation. "It's all lies," Hagari clarified.
The interview sparked outrage among the camp's residents. One local, whose community witnessed the rescue of four Israeli hostages yesterday, complained, "The Saudi Al-Hadath channel hosted the occupation army's spokesman to justify the massacre in Nuseirat." Another resident added, "The pro-Zionist Saudi media is complicit in the massacre carried out by the occupation. The collaborating Saudi regime uses its media and its electronic flies to justify the occupation's crimes."
Drawing parallels with Islamic history, one resident remarked, "This is the media of Ibn Salul [who pretended to be a Muslim to fool the Prophet Muhammad] may Allah curse them. This is the reason for the destruction in all Muslim countries for a long time." The anger extended beyond media criticism to broader political sentiments. "If it weren't for the traitors, the Jews and Christians wouldn't dare act against us. If it weren't for the internal betrayal, some of our youth wouldn't have died, and the Zionists wouldn't have reached the prisoners (hostages). May Allah protect us," another Palestinian fumed.
Meanwhile, despite Arab reports of over 200 casualties in central Gaza Strip attacks yesterday, including in Nuseirat, Palestinians have so far only released 93 names. Gaza officials claim these are "known names."
