CNN's Amanpour regrets her Israeli hostage comparison to 'average Gazan,' calls it 'insensitive and wrong'

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour said on Monday that her suggestion that Israeli hostages were treated "better than the average Gazan" was "insensitive and wrong."

Amanpour made her original comments on "CNN News Central" while reporting on the "joy" felt in Israel after the release of 20 Israeli hostages.

She acknowledged the physical and mental torture the hostages endured for approximately two years but argued that they were potentially treated better than Gazans because Hamas was using them as "leverage."

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

Amanpour faced swift backlash for her comments, leading her to release a statement on her CNN show "Amanpour."

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

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She continued, "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. 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."

Fox News Digital reached out to CNN for comment.

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Amanpour has faced backlash for her coverage of the Israel-Hamas war in the past. In 2023, weeks after the Oct. 7 attack, she claimed that that the "rest of the world" agreed with the Queen of Jordan’s statement that there was a "glaring double standard" in support for Israeli citizens but not Palestinians.

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Hamas released all 20 remaining living hostages held in Gaza as part of a ceasefire deal with Israel. They arrived in Israel on Monday, where they will undergo medical checks after 738 days in captivity.