Recorded: Gaza Civilians Reveal Hamas Abuses

Jerusalem, 8 January, 2024 (TPS) -- Gaza civilians revealed incidents of Hamas murder and abuse in phone calls with Israeli military officers released by the Israel Defense Forces on Monday.

The Palestinians were talking to Arab-speaking officers of Unit 504, which specializes in human intelligence.

In one call, a Palestinian tells the officer that Hamas killed his cousin “yesterday.” When asked why, the Palestinian said, “Because he went to UNRWA.”

In another call, a Palestinian tells the officer that Hamas is trying to evict him from his house.

“They want us to leave our homes so they can take control of them in order to shoot at you,” the Palestinian says.

“Us, as long as long as we are in our homes, because our houses on the front line, you understand? We keep our houses so that no one takes them over,” he continues, adding, “They want them [the houses] to get out through them, to break the walls and get out through them.”

Another Palestinian who called identified himself as a certified chef for a charity called “The American World Kitchen.” He told the officer that Hamas operatives frequently tried to steal food.

“Yes, it’s food. It’s not that they steal food, I wish they would steal [just] food, they steal from the warehouses of the agency [UNRWA].”

He clarified that Hamas is currently not stealing from him, “But they are trying. When the supplies arrive, they try to steal.”

Israel has previously warned that Hamas is stealing food arriving in humanitarian deliveries to the Strip.

At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7. The number of men, women, children, soldiers and foreigners held captive in Gaza by Hamas is now believed to be 129. Other people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains.