Armed groups led by Hamas committed “numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity” against civilians during the October 7 attack in southern Israel, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released on Wednesday (17).
In a 236-page report titled “‘I Can’t Erase All the Blood from My Mind’: The October 7 Attack by Palestinian Armed Groups on Israel,” the human rights watchdog said the October 7 attack was “directed against a civilian population,” and that “killing civilians and taking hostages were the central objectives of the planned attack, not an afterthought, a plan gone wrong or an isolated act.”
“The Hamas-led attack on October 7 was designed to kill civilians and take as many people hostage as possible,” said Ida Sawyer, HRW’s crisis and conflict director.
The attack was led by Hamas’ military wing – the Qassam Brigades – but included at least four other Palestinian armed groups, the report said.
The report details several dozen cases of serious violations of international humanitarian law by Palestinian armed groups at mostly civilian sites of attacks on Oct. 7, when militants killed 1,200 people in Israel and took more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
The rights group said it interviewed 144 people, including 94 Israelis, who witnessed the October 7 attack, which targeted at least 19 kibbutzim (agricultural communes) and five moshavim (cooperative communities). The towns of Sderot and Ofakim, two music festivals and a beach party were also targeted, HRW added.
“The armed groups committed numerous violations of the laws of war that amount to war crimes,” the report said. These included “attacks on civilians and civilian objects, intentional killings of people in custody, cruel and other inhuman treatment.” Palestinian fighters committed summary killings and hostage-taking, along with assassinations and unjust arrests, HRW added.
Sexual and gender-based violence
The report also highlighted “crimes involving sexual and gender-based violence, hostage-taking, mutilation and spoliation of bodies, use of human shields, and looting and pillaging.”
Israel and the United Nations have also accused Hamas-led militants of committing sexual violence on October 7.
In March, the UN special envoy on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, said her team found “reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence, including rape and gang rape” occurred that day. It was the UN’s most definitive conclusion yet on allegations of sexual assault following the attack.
Several first responders who responded to the scenes of the October 7 attack said to CNN in December that the attacks were extremely horrific and that some female victims were found naked.
HRW said Hamas responded to its questions by saying its forces were instructed not to target civilians and to respect international human rights and humanitarian law. “In many cases, Human Rights Watch’s investigations have found evidence to the contrary,” the watchdog said.
Hamas rejected the report’s findings and called for its withdrawal, according to a statement released Wednesday.
“We reject the lies and blatant bias towards the occupation and the lack of professionalism and credibility in the Human Rights Watch report. We demand its withdrawal and an apology,” the Palestinian group said.
“Atrocities do not justify atrocities”
In response to the Oct. 7 attack, Israel launched an air and ground offensive in Gaza that has killed more than 38,000 people in the enclave, according to Palestinian authorities. The war has displaced nearly all of Gaza’s population of 2 million, turned swathes of the territory into rubble and triggered a massive humanitarian crisis.
Previous HRW reports have addressed several alleged serious violations committed by Israeli forces in Gaza since October 7. In its Wednesday report, HRW called on all parties to the conflict to comply with international humanitarian law.
“Palestinian armed groups in Gaza should immediately and unconditionally release civilians held hostage,” the report said, adding that both sides “should hand over for prosecution anyone facing an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant.”
In May, the ICC said it was seeking arrest warrants for Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among other Israeli and Hamas officials, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity during the October 7 attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza. A case is also being heard by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over a South African allegation that Israel is committing genocide in its war in Gaza.
“Atrocities do not justify atrocities,” Sawyer said. “To stop the endless cycle of abuses in Israel and Palestine, it is critical to address the root causes and hold perpetrators of grave crimes accountable. This is in the interests of both Palestinians and Israelis.”
Almost the entire population of Gaza has been displaced amid the new Israeli offensive
Source: CNN Brasil
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