Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa

Bahrain’s crown prince has strongly condemned Hamas’ resistance operation of October 7 that the movement staged in response to the Israeli regime’s decades-long campaign of bloodletting and devastation against Palestinians.

I condemn Hamas unequivocally, Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa told the Bahrain Security Conference on Friday.

The attacks on October 7th were barbaric, he added.

Waged against the occupied territories, the Palestinian operation, dubbed al-Aqsa Storm, resulted in the deaths of some 1,400 Israeli forces and settlers, and the captivity of hundreds of others.

The Israeli regime has brought the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is headquartered, under an unrelenting and genocidal war ever since, killing more than 12,000 Palestinians, including more than 5,000 children.

The regime has also cut off the flow of basic supplies, such as water, electricity, medicines, and fuel, to one of the world’s most densely populated territories that houses over two million Palestinians.

Prince Salman’s remarks came amid thousands-strong international protests and statements from the world’s political leaders condemning the Israeli regime’s military campaign.

The Bahraini regime normalized its relations with Tel Aviv in 2020 as part of the United States-mediated so-called Abraham Accords, which the Palestinians have denounced as a stab in the back of their cause of liberation from Israeli occupation and aggression.

Ever since the onset of the Israeli war, hundreds of Bahrainis have taken to the streets across the island, urging a reversal of the detente.

The Bahraini official, meanwhile, alleged that an exchange of hostages was the only way to achieve a necessary break in violence so that humanitarian aid could be provided to the Palestinians in Gaza.

Late last month, Hamas’ leader Yahya Sinwar said the group was prepared for an immediate exchange of prisoners with Israel, but the regime was stalling.