Some countries' recent recognition of a Palestinian state is the result of Hamas's October 7 attacks, Osama Hamdan, a senior official of the terrorist organization, told Hezbollah-affiliated news source Al-Mayadeen in a Tuesday interview.
Hamdan referred to the brutal attacks as "The Al-Aqsa Flood," Hamas's name for them.
Numerous countries announced their recognition of a Palestinian state earlier this week, including the UK, Canada, Australia, and Portugal. Hamdan described the countries' recognition announcement as "a step in the right direction" in the interview.
He also claimed in the interview that the countries want to avoid placing sanctions on Israel by recognizing a Palestinian state as an alternative political move. He also alleged that Israel is "trying to buy time in the hope of achieving any political gains it hasn't yet during the two years of aggression."
"Netanyahu is delusional if he thinks that by occupying the Gaza Strip he is scoring a victory," Al-Mayadeen quoted Hamdan as saying. "The Zionist entity wants to impose control over the region, and its threats must be taken seriously. Anyone who believes we will make concessions or that the resistance will weaken is delusional."
The Hamas official also revealed in the interview that he met with Hezbollah officials, where among the topics discussed was the "centrality of Palestine."
"We believe that the path will continue under the leadership of Naim Qassem," Hamdan said of the Hezbollah leader. "There is no doubt that the absence of [former leader] Hassan Nasrallah has left its mark. There is a deep relationship that has developed between the resistance in Palestine, especially Hamas, and the resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah."
Western leaders debate Palestinian state reward for terrorism
Also on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump slammed European countries that recognized a Palestinian state, saying that "The rewards would be too great for Hamas terrorists for their atrocities."
Trump's French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, responded by telling reporters in a bilateral meeting with the US leader that recognizing the state of Palestine does not amount to forgetting the deadly October 2023 Hamas attack.
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said earlier on Monday that recognition of a Palestinian state would lead to the creation of a “full-blown terror state."
Reuters contributed to this report.