A snap shot of Ghazi Hamad, a member of the Hamas political bureau, speaks during a live interview broadcast by Qatari channel Al Jazeera. Courtesy of Al Jazeera.
The attack occurred "less than an hour after we began studying the proposal" for a ceasefire in Gaza, he said, referring to a meeting of senior Hamas officials he specified was discussing a US proposal delivered to them via Qatar.
"The rockets came down consecutively, it was fierce, around 12 missiles in less than a minute," he added, saying the resistance group "based on previous experience of Israeli wars, learned with complete certainty that it is an Israeli attack."
"We managed to evacuate immediately."
"God destined us to survive this treacherous aggression against us and sister Qatar," Hamas Political Bureau member added.
According to sources close to Hamas, Hamad was one of six leaders of the Palestinian resistance movement gathered in the building targeted by Israel at the time of the strike, along with chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, former chief Khaled Meshaal, West Bank head Zaher Jabarine and political bureau members Bassem Naim and Taher al-Nounou.
Hayya's son was killed in the Israeli strike, and Hamas has since said that the chief negotiator himself is alive.
Hamad slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rhetoric about “changing the face of the Middle East,” saying it demands an Arab response against Israeli impunity and escalation.
“With the Israeli recklessness, we are not the only ones targeted, but the entire nation,” he added
Short link: