Queen Rania of Jordan says no proof of Hamas beheading babies

Queen Rania of Jordan on Tuesday condemned the reaction of Western leaders to the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s war against Hamas. She called it a “glaring double standard” during her interview with CNN.

“This is the first time in modern history that there is such human suffering and the world is not even calling for a ceasefire,” said Queen Rania. “The silence is deafening – and to many in our region, it makes the Western world complicit.”

Answering the question about Jordan’s reaction to Hamas’ terrific attack on Israel on October 7, the Queen said that she was shocked and that her country condemns killing of any civilians. “It is the moral position of Jordan, and it is the position of Islam,” she added.

Queen Rania stated that there was no evidence of children's beheadings by Hamas reported earlier in the war. "Even your network," the Queen told the CNN host, "reported Israeli children found butchered in Israeli kibbutz, but when you read through the story, it hasn't been independently verified." 

Queen Rania pointed out the world's "hyperfixation on Hamas." "Any country has the right to defend itself, but not through war crimes, not through collective punishment," she said about Israel's response to Hamas attack, criticizing the "indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza."

The Queen emphasized that the Arab world is shocked by the global media coverage of the war and its portrayal as if the conflict started only on October 7: “This is a 75-year-old story, a story of overwhelming death and displacement to the Palestinian people.” She called the history of the conflict for the Palestinians “a story of an occupation under apartheid regime that occupies lands, demolishes houses, confiscates lands, military incursions, night raids.”

Earlier on Saturday, at the Cairo Summit for Peace where Israel was not represented, King Abdullah II of Jordan stated that the international reaction to the war portrays Palestinians as if they matter less than Israelis. He said that the Arab world is seeing that "application of the international law is optional. And human rights have boundaries — they stop at borders, they stop at races, and they stop at religions."

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has most recently reported 600,000 internally displaced people in the Gaza Strip "sheltering in 150 UNRWA facilities." The Hamas-controlled authorities stated that the death toll in Gaza passed 5,000.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Tuesday discussed the U.S.-drafted resolution on the Israel-Hamas war. The text suggested humanitarian pauses but did not mention a ceasefire.

However, leaders outside of the Arab and Muslin world - from China and Russia to the traditional Israeli allies - have expressed solidarity with civilians in Gaza and commitment to peace. For example, after securing the aid deal supply via Rafah border crossing, U.S. President Joe Biden announced $100 million in new funding for the humanitarian needs in Gaza and the West Bank.