Senior Hamas official praised Oct. 7 attack on Israel after cease-fire deal struck: Miraculous achievement

A senior Hamas leader praised the Oct.7 terror attack as a “miraculous military and security achievement,” while promising “justice” for those who committed so-called “genocide” in a stunning speech just after the cease-fire deal was announced.Khalil al-Hayya’s televised remarks were delivered from Qatar on Wednesday just hours after a long-awaited and widely celebrated cease-fire deal was reached between Israel and Hamas. “What occurred on October 7 – a miraculous military and security achievement by the elite Qassam Brigades – will remain a source of pride for our people,” al-Hayya said in the speech, according to a translated video shared by Israeli diplomat David Saranga.“It struck the heart of the enemy and will lead, Allah willing, to the restoration of all our rights,” he said – accusing the Jewish state of “genocidal wars, Nazi crimes, and acts of inhumanity,” according to the translation. “We will never forget or forgive those who participate in this genocide … Justice will be served to these criminals, even if delayed” he was quoted saying. “Our enemy will see no moment of weakness or surrender from us.”Hamas is still holding about 100 hostages, including seven Americans, in Gaza following the group’s Oct.

7, 2023, attack on Israel, where extreme violence and bloodshed claimed the lives of at least 1,400 Israelis. The Hamas leader, who also serves as the terror group’s top negotiator, also hailed the cease-fire hostage deal as a “historic moment.”The breakthrough peace deal was struck Wednesday after an intense 96 hours of negotiations brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.It was briefly scuttled Thursday due to a “last-minute blackmail attempt” by Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, but the deal got the go-ahead again later in the day.The three-phase agreement will halt fighting for 42 days with 33 Israeli hostages incrementally freed from captivity in exchange for the...