Abu Marzouk said, asserting that — though he claimed to not have been privy to the exact details of the planned assault — he could not have brought himself to approve it, knowing what he knows now
The statement of regret marked a departure from previous statements by Hamas officials.

A few weeks after the invasion, for example, politburo member Ghazi Hamad publicly declared that October 7 was:
1. just the first time,
2. and there will be a second, a third, a fourth,
3. we are ready to pay” the price,
4. and vowing to continue until Israel was totally annihilated.

And in the weeks since a hostage release-ceasefire deal was reached last month, Hamas and its allies have also repeatedly called the war a “victory” for their cause.

Indeed, Abu Marzouk’s remarks were quickly countered by Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem, who said:
1. “The occupation’s aggressive and destructive behavior is the cause of the destruction in Gaza"
2. The October 7 epic marks a strategic turning point in the Palestinian national struggle.

In a statement issued a short while later by the group itself, Hamas claimed Abu Marzouk’s comments were “incorrect and taken out of context.”