Watch: Jeremy Bowen presses Hamas deputy leader on 7 October attacks

One of the most senior leaders of Hamas - a group designated a terrorist organisation by the UK and others - speaks to the BBC's Jeremy Bowen.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifyUS ElectionElection pollsKamala HarrisDonald TrumpJD VanceTim WalzSportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersWatch: Jeremy Bowen presses Hamas deputy leader on 7 October attacksThe most senior leader of Hamas outside Gaza has told the BBC that the crisis his organisation provoked in the Middle East, which has led to thousands of deaths across the region in the last year, is justified.

Challenged by BBC international editor Jeremy Bowen, Khalil al-Hayya, the deputy leader of Hamas, denied overwhelming evidence that Hamas fighters targeted civilians during the attacks on 7 October last year.

Around 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, were killed and more than 250 taken into Gaza as hostages. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organisation by the UK and other governments.

Al-Hayya said the 7 October attacks last year were necessary to place the issue of Palestinian statehood back on the global agenda.

Without it, he said, the cycle of violence in the Middle East would not end.

https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/cdd4rpv5jp0o

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