PA: Hamas disguised as civilians caused civilian deaths
Excerpt of an editorial by the official PA daily:
Headline: "Shame branches out from faith"
"When three female Israeli hostages were released, Hamas members recently appeared armed and masked in their army uniforms, and in a completely flashy manner (refers to ceasefire deal in the 2023 Gaza war; see note below -Ed.)! Over the last 15 months of the war, we have not seen any of these activists in these uniforms. They were dressed in civilian shirts and pants, wore sandals (!!) [parentheses in source], and some were in pajamas. From among people's homes – as Al-Jazeera TV presented them – they fired their [RPG] rockets at the occupation (i.e., Israeli) army's vehicles, and retreated behind these homes. This matter, in addition to the racist and violent Israeli response to these rockets, is what contributed to increasing the losses among civilian residents of the slaughtered Gaza Strip...
When shame ends, only insolence remains. For 15 months of harsh war, Hamas did not dare to show even one of its operatives in military uniforms (!!) [parentheses in source], but when the ceasefire agreement stipulated that the cannons be silenced, Hamas brought out its operatives in military uniforms – not only for display purposes, but also to fabricate a victory narrative!"
[Official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 22, 2025]