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Tags: christiane amanpour | apologized | israel | hostages | gaza | hamas | terrorists

CNN's Amanpour Apologizes for Remark on Israeli Hostages

By    |   Monday, 13 October 2025 08:11 PM EDT

CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour apologized Monday after saying that Israeli hostages, held for two years by Iran-backed Hamas terrorists, were "probably" treated better than Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

"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 have finally had a reprieve from two years of brutal, deadly war," Amanpour said in a video posted on X.

"I noted that for the hostages who are finally home, it will take a long time for them to recover mentally and physically.

"But I regret also saying that they may have been treated better than many Gazans because Hamas used these hostages as pawns and bargaining chips.

"It was insensitive and wrong."

The last 20 living hostages were released Monday morning in the first phase of a peace deal brokered by President Donald Trump's administration.

"They're probably being treated better than the average Gazan because they are the pawns and the chips that Hamas had," Amanpour said earlier Monday on "CNN News Central."

"Now Hamas has given up all its leverage, by the way. ... So that is a victory for the Israeli side."

Amanpour also lamented that the freed hostages will have access to mental healthcare in Israel while Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which was controlled by Hamas at the time its terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, lack the resources to treat such problems.

That attack resulted in 1,200 people being killed and more than 250 hostages taken to Gaza.

Trump special envoy Richard Grenell, who also serves as acting president of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, blasted Amanpour's remarks as "pro-Hamas."

"@CNN's @amanpour just said that the Israeli hostages were treated better than other people," Grenell wrote on X.

"She's literally pro-Hamas. You can feel how mad she is with the release of hostages by Trump.

"And she says, 'The Abraham Accords aren't peace deals.' She's a sick woman."

Grenell was referring to Amanpour's take regarding the Abraham Accords not being peace deals but "normalization accords."

Many believe the Abraham Accords, signed during the first Trump administration, contribute to regional peace by fostering stability, investment, and dialogue that indirectly create better conditions for Israeli-Palestinian talks.

Grenell took to X again to slam Amanpour over her apology, which he alleged was not voluntary.

Amanpour has drawn controversy before over her coverage of Israel. Two years ago, she apologized for saying on her program that Lucy Dee and her daughters, Rina and Maia, were "killed in a shootout" rather than stating they were murdered in a terrorist attack.

In 2013, in an interview with then-Economy Minister Naftali Bennett, she referred to Judea and Samaria as the "occupied West Bank," asserting that the term was "an international term," according to Israel National News.

Bennett said in his response, "One cannot occupy his own home."

A similar incident occurred in 2022 when Bennett, then Israel's prime minister, was interviewed by Amanpour, and she asserted that "the West Bank has been occupied since 1967."

Bennett responded: "I object: These are not occupied territories."

In 2020, Amanpour caused an uproar when she called Trump's first term an "assault" on human civilization comparable to that conducted by Nazi Germany during the Kristallnacht pogroms in 1938. The Israeli government demanded an apology from CNN for the comparison.

Amanpour ultimately apologized, saying: "Hitler and his evils stand alone, of course, in history. I regret any pain my statement may have caused.

"My point was to say how democracy can potentially slip away, and how we must always zealously guard our democratic values."

Michael Katz

Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


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CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour apologized Monday after saying that Israeli hostages, held for two years by Iran-backed Hamas terrorists, were "probably" treated better than Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
christiane amanpour, apologized, israel, hostages, gaza, hamas, terrorists, palestinians
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2025-11-13
Monday, 13 October 2025 08:11 PM
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