Rights group says in new report Palestinian armed groups committed crimes against humanity in last year’s assault in Israel.
Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups committed numerous crimes against humanity, including summary killings and sexual violence, during their attacks on Israel on October 7, a report issued by Human Rights Watch (HRW) says.
The surprise attack on Israel aimed to kill civilians and take the maximum number of captives, according to the report, released on Wednesday. Hamas slammed the publication, saying it is full of “lies and blatant bias”.
Based on interviews with 144 witnesses and extensive photo and video documentation, the report said Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, and at least four other Palestinian armed groups identified as taking part in the attacks “committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians”.
“It’s impossible for us to put a number on the specific instances,” HRW associate director Belkis Wille said, but “there were obviously hundreds on that day.”
The crimes noted include “deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects; wilful killing of persons in custody; cruel and other inhumane treatment; sexual and gender-based violence; hostage taking; mutilation and despoiling (robbing) of bodies; use of human shields; and pillage and looting”.
“Human Rights Watch research found that the Hamas-led assault on October 7 was designed to kill civilians and take as many people as possible hostage,” HRW crisis and conflict director Ida Sawyer said. “The October 7 atrocities should spur a global call to action for an end to all abuses against civilians in Israel and Palestine.”
The death toll in Israel from the Hamas-led attacks is estimated at about 1,140. Some 240 people were also taken captive during the attack, with dozens still held 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 Ministry of Health, and has now entered its 10th month.
Hamas charges ‘blatant bias’
Hamas flatly denied the findings presented by the human rights group and demanded that HRW retract the report and apologise.
“We reject the lies and blatant bias towards the occupation and the lack of professionalism and credibility in the Human Rights Watch report,” Hamas said in a statement on Wednesday.
Hamas also said the report should have taken note of the response of Israel, which has faced accusations of war crimes of its own, including genocidal acts.
HRW has issued several reports condemning Israeli war crimes in Gaza and accusing it of restricting the flow of aid to the enclave’s 2.3 million people.
“Atrocities do not justify atrocities,” Sawyer said. “To stop the endless cycle of abuses in Israel and Palestine, it’s critical to address root causes and hold violators of grave crimes to account. That’s in the interests of both Palestinians and Israelis.”
‘Coordinated assault’
The HRW report singles out Hamas as the orchestrator of the October 7 attacks but also lists other armed groups as perpetrators, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
It said the worst abuses were not carried out by civilians, a claim it said Hamas has made “to distance itself from the events” and Israel has echoed to “justify its retaliation operation”.
Wille pointed to the “incredibly organised and coordinated nature” of Hamas’s assault on Israeli cities, kibbutz communities and military bases, saying fighters shot directly at civilians “as they tried to flee”.
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has asked for arrest warrants against Hamas leaders, including political chief Ismail Haniyeh and Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The prosecutor has also sought warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of crimes against humanity ranging from “starvation of civilians” to “extermination and/or murder”.