Hamas appeared to admit using human shields to fire rockets into Israel for the first time today, but refused to accept responsibility for the slaughter of hundreds of innocent Palestinians killed in retaliatory airstrikes. In a veiled confession that comes two weeks after the end of the Gaza war, a senior Hamas official said the group's fighters had no choice but to use residential areas from which to launch missiles into their neighbour's territory. But while Ghazi Hamad claimed they took safeguards to keep people away from the violence, he admitted 'mistakes were made', blaming Israel's heavy-handed response for the deaths of civilians.
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Official says group had no choice but to launch rockets from civilian areas
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Ghazi Hamad: safeguards taken to protect civilians but 'we made mistakes'
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He refuses to accept responsibility for deaths in retaliatory airstrikes
'Yes, @placeholder and others may have used civilians as human shields, but was that consistent and widespread?'