A human rights group says in a new report that Palestinian armed groups committed crimes against humanity during last year’s attack on Israel.
Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups committed numerous crimes against humanity, including summary executions and sexual violence, during their attacks on Israel on October 7, according to a report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The surprise attack on Israel was aimed at killing civilians and capturing as many people as possible, according to the report released Wednesday. Hamas sharply criticized the publication, calling it “full of lies and blatant bias.”
Drawing on interviews with 144 witnesses and extensive photo and video documentation, the report said that Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, and at least four other Palestinian armed groups identified as participating in the attacks “committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians.”
“We cannot put a number on the exact cases,” said HRW deputy director Belkis Wille, but “there were hundreds that day.”
The crimes identified include “deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian objects; intentional killing of persons in custody; cruel and other inhuman treatment; sexual and gender-based violence; hostage-taking; mutilation and theft of bodies; use of human shields; and pillaging and vandalism.”
“Human Rights Watch’s research shows that the Hamas attack on October 7 was aimed at killing civilians and taking as many people hostage as possible,” said Ida Sawyer, HRW’s Crisis and Conflict director. “The atrocities of October 7 should spark a global call to action to end all abuses against civilians in Israel and Palestine.”
The death toll from the Hamas attacks in Israel is estimated at around 1,140. Some 240 people were also captured in the attack, and dozens more remain in Gaza.
In response, Israel launched a war on Gaza that has killed at least 38,794 Palestinians and wounded 89,364, according to the enclave’s health ministry, and is now in its 10th month.
Hamas accuses country of ‘blatant bias’
Hamas has categorically denied the findings presented by the human rights organization and demanded that HRW retract its report and apologize.
“We reject the lies and blatant bias towards the occupation as well as the lack of professionalism and credibility of the Human Rights Watch report,” Hamas said in a statement Wednesday.
Hamas also said the report should have taken into account the response of Israel, which itself has been accused of war crimes, including genocidal acts.
HRW has published several reports condemning Israeli war crimes in Gaza and accusing the government of restricting humanitarian aid to the enclave’s 2.3 million residents.
“Atrocities do not justify atrocities,” Sawyer said. “To end the endless cycle of abuses in Israel and Palestine, it is essential to address the root causes and hold perpetrators of serious crimes accountable. This is in the interests of both Palestinians and Israelis.”
“Coordinated attack”
The HRW report names Hamas as the orchestrator of the October 7 attacks, but also cites other armed groups as perpetrators, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
According to the organization, the worst abuses were not committed by civilians, a claim that Hamas made “to distance itself from the events” and that Israel repeated to “justify its retaliatory operation.”
Wille highlighted the “incredibly organized and coordinated nature” of Hamas’ assault on Israeli towns, kibbutz communities and military bases, saying fighters fired directly at civilians “as they tried to flee.”
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has requested arrest warrants for Hamas leaders, including political leader Ismail Haniyeh and Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The prosecutor also requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who they accuse of crimes against humanity ranging from “starvation of civilians” to “extermination and/or murder.”
