As Israel and Hamas began indirect peace talks in Egypt on the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks, the Palestinian militant group called the assault a “historic response" to Israel’s actions to “eradicate" the Palestinian cause.

Hamas launched a surprise attack called Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and led to 251 hostages being taken. The attacks triggered a devastating military response by Israel, which killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and reduced Gaza to rubble, leading to a widespread humanitarian crisis.

“We reaffirm that the Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7 was a historic response to attempts to eradicate the Palestinian cause," Fawzi Barhoum, a senior Hamas official, said in a televised speech.

He also said Hamas was working to “surmount a

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