Following Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007, Naim, who holds a degree in medicine from Germany and a PhD in surgery,[1][2] was named Minister of Health. As minister, Naim replaced Fatah-affiliated hospital directors and medical staff with Hamas-aligned individuals. [citation needed] One affected professional, Jomaa Alsaqqa, a 20-year surgeon at al-Shifa Hospital, was terminated for his Fatah support. He claims to have been arrested and assaulted by Hamas.[3]
He stepped down in 2012 and became the head of the Council on International Relations in Gaza.[2]
In October 2023, while acting as Hamas's representative in Moscow, Basem participated in a delegation led by senior Hamas member Moussa Abu Marzouk to Moscow.[4][5]
In an interview with Sky News, following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Naim asserted that Hamas did not kill civilians, despite evidence to the contrary.[6][7] Likewise in an interview with 60 Minutes Australia, Naim repeated that Hamas fighters haven't committed any crimes.[8] In both cases, interviewers confronted Naim with evidence that hundreds of civilians had been killed in the October 7 attack.
In another interview with Sky News on 16 October, Naim reiterated that no Israeli civilians were killed and informed that the status of the 199 civilians held hostage remains uncertain. In a confrontational interview, he emphasized the difficulty of ascertaining their well-being due to the intense bombardment in Gaza. Naim further stated, "We have communicated to all intermediaries our willingness to release all civilian hostages once the aggression against our people ceases".[9]
In 2024 the Washington Post named Naim among key spreaders of disinformation online about the Hamas attack against Israel.[10]
He criticised the US’s role in the war, saying: “While these crimes have been committed with Israeli hands, they were sponsored and backed up by the US administration".[11]
Naim had a large following on social media where he often posts anti-Israel and pro-BDS messages.[12] Naim has condemned terror attacks against Jews that occurred in the United States[13] and Germany[12] several times.
^Dwoskin, Elizabeth (22 January 2024). "Growing Oct. 7 'truther' groups say Hamas massacre was a false flag". Washington Post. ISSN0190-8286. Retrieved 11 March 2024. The head of International Relations for Hamas, Basem Naim, has falsely asserted that the group "didn't kill any civilians" when it attacked Israel on Oct. 7, calling the claim "Israeli propaganda." Such false claims are finding an audience in a variety of online spaces.
