In this episode of Sidebar (Al-Jazeera), senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan dismisses accusations that the movement killed babies or used civilians as human shields. Hamdan says that Hamas' attack on October 7th was a preemptive one based on information the Al-Qassam Brigades had of an imminent war on Gaza being planned by Israel.

As always, edited by Ian Anderson (@starsalwayslost), with special thanks / credit to Sina Rahmani + The East is a Podcast. Robin Brickner is our social media coordinator. Our Twitter presence is @AntiImpArchive, and if you would like to reach out directly we have an email address at: [email protected]