Palestine’s UK Envoy Said His Family Were Killed By Israeli Airstrikes And Then Got Asked To Condemn Hamas Again
“My cousin is not Hamas. These kids have nothing to do with Hamas.”
A day after he went viral for blasting the BBC for its biased coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot has revealed that six members of his extended family have been killed by Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza.
Zomlot appeared on another segment on BBC on Monday Oct. 9 when he shared the news that his cousin, her two children, husband, mother-in-law and another two other relatives had died.
“And the issue here is that they have no bunkers. They have no Iron Dome. They have nowhere to go. They are simply sitting ducks for the Israeli war machine,” Zomlot said.
“I’m sorry for you own personal loss,” Kirsty Wark says, before immediately adding, “I mean, can I just be clear, though? You cannot condone the killing of civilians in Israel. Can you?”
“We don’t condone, and we are very clear, Kirsty,” Zomlot replies. “We reject any targeting or harming of civilians from all sides.”
Wark then asks Zomlot what his reaction is to the UK and the European Commission potentially cutting aid to Palestinians following Israel announcing a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip.
“My cousin is not Hamas. In fact, her husband works for the Palestinian Authority, the opponents of Hamas. These kids, four years and two years, have nothing to do with Hamas,” Zomlot said.
“Everybody in the world is punishing the people that have nothing to do with this,” he added.
Wark then replies, “We know that children who are young also have died in Israel.”
The interview has also gone viral, gaining more than 12.8 million views on X, formerly known as Twitter.
People expressed their support for Zomlot and criticizing the insensitive interview.
