CNN’s Christiane Amanpour Apologizes for ‘Insensitive’ and ‘Wrong’ Comments About Israeli Hostages

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour apologized on Monday afternoon for what she admitted were “insensitive and wrong” comments she made earlier that morning about the Israeli hostages returned to their loved ones by Hamas after spending more than two harrowing years in captivity.

After being asked for her “big picture” thoughts on the peace deal brokered by President Donald Trump on Monday morning, Amanpour said:

I pretty much can assure you that one, that once those doors are opened, it will be a scene of absolute, abject horror. And I think for sure, people who start to talk to the hostages who have only just been released, will find that it will take a long, long time for them to recover physically, but also mentally. It’s been a terrible, terrible two years for them, because not only are they there — you know, they’re probably being treated better than the average Gazan, because they are the pawns and the chips that Hamas had. Now, Hamas has given up all of its leverage, by the way, by giving them all up. So that is a victory for the Israeli side.

But they will have had so much horror and terror as well, because they were also in the war zone, many of them underground, we understand.

The downplaying of the hostages’ plight was the subject of much controversy, and Amanpour responded to the criticism in a video statement she shared on social media.

“Now, earlier live on air, I spoke about what a day of real joy this is for Israeli families whose loved ones are finally being returned from two years of horrific Hamas captivity, and for civilians in Gaza who finally had reprieve from two of brutal and deadly war. I noted that for the hostages who are finally home, it’ll take a long time for them to recover mentally and physically, but I regret also saying that they might have been treated better than many Gazans because Hamas used these hostages as pawns and bargaining chips,” she began. “But that was insensitive, and it was wrong. From speaking to many former hostages and their families, like everyone, I’ve been horrified at what Hamas has subjected them to over two long years. They’ve told me, as you’ve just heard, their stories of barely being able to breathe in the tunnels, not being allowed to cry, being starved, and made to dig their own graves. And of course, today, some of the hostages are coming back in body bags.”

Watch above via Christiane Amanpour on X.