Gazans Furious With Hamas: It Has Nothing But Contempt For The Victims Of The War And Is Prepared To Sacrifice Us All To Remain In Power
Palestinians | Special Dispatch No. 11986
In the recent days, a video was widely circulated on social media featuring part of a March 30, 2025 interview with senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri. In the interview, which aired on a Libyan television channel, Abu Zuhri referred with indifference to the number of Palestinians who have been killed in the Gaza war, calling this “the price we have to pay,” and remarked that the women of Gaza will compensate for the loss by “producing” more babies than those who have been killed.
Abu Zuhri’s remarks sparked considerable anger in the Gaza Strip. At a demonstration held in Khan Yunis on May 19, 2025 calling to end the war, protesters condemned Abu Zuhri and the Hamas movement, chanting: “Abu Zuhri, you despicable man! The children have a right to live! and “Out with Hamas!”[1]
Gazans on social media expressed outrage at Abu Zuhri’s remarks, claiming that the Hamas leadership, in its insolence, imperviousness and insensitivity, is willing to sacrifice all the people of the Gaza Strip in order to remain in power, and that, for the leadership, the dead in Gaza are no more than numbers or tactical losses and a means to achieve temporary political goals.
It should be noted that this is not the first time that senior Hamas officials have demonstrated indifference to the victims of the Gaza war, calling them “tactical losses.” In a speech he delivered on the first anniversary of the Gaza war on October 7, 2024, Khaled Mashal stated that the Palestinian losses in the war, and especially the numerous deaths, were merely “tactical,” as opposed to the strategic blows dealt to Israel.[2] Furthermore, in November 2023, senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk said that the Gaza tunnels were intended to protect Hamas’ fighters, not the residents of Gaza, whose protection was the responsibility of the UN and of Israel.[3]
This report reviews criticism of Abu Zuhri and the Hamas leadership posted on social media from within the Gaza Strip,
“Free Gaza” Facebook Account: Hamas Is Prepared To Sacrifice All The Gazans To Remain In Power
A post on the “Free Gaza” Facebook account, which frequently publishes criticism against Hamas, read: “Sami Abu Zuhri believes that souls can be remanufactured in Hamas’s factory for [making] people… Hamas’s religion is based on [the principle] that human lives are as cheap as they can possibly be. In order to safeguard Hamas and its rule in Gaza, they [Hamas] have no problem sacrificing Aziz [a Gazan whose photograph accompanies the post] and his family, along with the entire Jabalia refugee camp and the northern Gaza Strip, [or actually] all of Gaza and its two million souls… [They believe] that the time of people’s death is predestined and has nothing to do with Hamas. The important point is for the negotiations to guarantee Hamas’ continued [control] over Gaza on the day after [the war]. Other than that, everything is marginal…”[4]
Gaza-based Facebook user Ashraf Nasser, who frequently criticizes Hamas, wrote: “Sami Abu Zuhri wants the people [of Gaza] to make [new] humans to replace those who have been lost, so that [Hamas’s] enterprise, which is based on bloodshed, will endure!” He followed this with a series of brutal curses against Hamas.[5]
Gaza Resident: The Dead Are Merely “Tactical Losses” For Hamas
Gazan user Alaa Matar posted on Facebook: “When I heard Sami Abu Zuhri say that houses can be rebuilt and martyrs can be replaced, I couldn’t believe that he, who said this, was speaking in our name, speaking for Gaza. I am a human being, and I have lost my daughter, her mother and my home. Tell me, Sami, how can I get back my daughter’s laughter, my daughter’s voice?… A martyr is not a number or a commodity that can be remanufactured. A martyr is a human being, a soul honored by Allah, a dream cut short and a life extinguished… You [Hamas officials] talk as if our losses can [just] go on, as though they are routine and meaningless. Whoever represents Gaza must feel [the pain of] its people, instead of disdaining their tears and robbing us even of the right to grieve.
“[Abu Zuhri’s] statements prove what is already known: [that for Hamas] we are mere numbers and tactical losses… [But] these losses cannot be replaced, and nothing can make up for them. [Hamas] regards the pain of the bereaved with great contempt… This is an insult to the very [spirit] of resistance. A real resistance [movement] defends its people rather than justifying their losses… The discourse of true leadership must befit the magnitude of the people’s sacrifice. You should apologize to us [Gazans] and kiss our feet so that we forgive you…”[6]
Gaza Facebook User: The Hamas Leadership Is Insolent, Impervious And Insensitive
Gazan Facebook user Anas Ahmed wrote: “O Sami Abu Zuhri, head of Hamas’ Political Department… you say that a house that was destroyed will be rebuilt. My house was bombed, and my loved ones were killed inside it… You say that the martyrs will be replaced by tens of thousands of new [souls], so please return to me all of my brother’s children whom I have lost. Please bring them back to me. I want to tell you that you are man without honor or feelings who pays no heed to the victims or to the peoples’ feelings. To our great misfortune, the Jews are fighting us with murder and starvation, and the arrogant political leadership, characterized by imperviousness and insensitivity, is [also] fighting us.”[7]
Similar criticism of Hamas was voiced by Gazan user Abu Imran Al-Ghoul, who wrote sarcastically: “Prof. Sami Abu Zuhri has invented a machine for remanufacturing humans. Allah disgrace you and whoever appointed you spokesman of a movement that speaks in such a shameful way in the name of a wounded people. You dishonor the people when you [say that] you can replace the dead, as though they are cheap goods [that can be] remanufactured… These remarks encapsulate Hamas’s attitude to the people and their suffering…”[8]
Gazan Facebook User: History Will Have No Mercy And The People Will Not Forget What Was Said To Them In A Time Of Crisis
Gazan user Lolo Mando Alkishawi wrote: “In response to the remarks made by Abu Zuhri, [let me say that] we are not turkeys on a farm that can be [slaughtered and then] bred anew in the next season. We are a people that knows its origins and its history and carries its honor on its shoulders even in difficult conditions… Our lives are not so cheap that [the price] of our blood can be estimated on talk-show panels or that our victims and our steadfastness can be tallied in terms of temporary political achievements… Those who speak for us should not sell us illusions… History will have no mercy and the people will not forget what was said to them in a [time of] crisis… We are human beings, and our dead are too noble for their sacrifice to be summed up in [this] cold and shameful manner. Whoever speaks this way does not represent us and has no right to speak for our dead…”[9]
Muhammad Khamis Al-Shuorbaji from Khan Younis shared a picture of his family and wrote: “Everyone knows that Sami Abu Zuhri is the son of a collaborator. The ones [in the picture] are my family members. Tell me, how can we produce new people like them? How does the process work?…” He too proceeded to curse Abu Zuhri.[10]
The photo shared my Muhammad Khamis Al-Shuorbaji
Gaza Resident: We Must Reexamine The Public Discourse And The Positions Of The Hamas Leadership
Hassan Obaid of Gaza wrote: “Whether Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri apologizes for his remarks, which offended everyone [in Gaza], or does not apologize, the impact of his remarks cannot be ignored. The martyrs are not mere numbers, nor are they goods manufactured in factories… They were beating human hearts… Each martyr has a story… An apology would be a positive measure toward calming things down and demonstrating accountability [on the part of Hamas]. But more important is to reconsider the public discourse and the positions taken, especially by members of the movement’s leadership…”[11]
REFERENCES:
[1] T.me/hamza20300, May 19, 2025.
[2] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11622, Saudi Journalists Slam Hamas Leader Abroad Khaled Mashal: He Is An Iranian Mercenary Who Cares Nothing For Lives Of The Gazans And Should Be Prosecuted, October 17, 2024.
[3] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 10958, Palestinian Authority Daily Reacts To MEMRI TV Clip Of Hamas Official Abu Marzouk Stating That The Tunnels Protect Hamas, Not Civilians: This Is Absolute Selfishness, Not Resistance, November 14, 2023.
[4] Facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572453226223, May 19, 2025
[5] Facebook.com/ashrf.nsr.950509, May 18, 2025.
[6] Facebook.com/alaa.matar.w, May 17, 2025
[7] Facebook.com/anas.ahmed.624704, May 18, 2025.
[8] Facebook.com/abw.mran.alghwl, May 18, 2025
[9] Facebook.com/lolo.mando.alkishawi, May 18, 2025.
[10] Facebook.com/mhmd.khmys.alshwrbjy.2025, May 18, 2025
[11] Facebook.com/hassan.obaid.3954, May 18, 2025
EDITORS NOTE: This MEMRI column with video is republised with permission. ©All rights reserved.
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