October 7: Crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Hamas-led groups

• Hamas-led armed groups carried out numerous War crimes And Crimes against humanity against civilians during the attack on southern Israel on October 7.
• Palestinian fighters committed summary killings, hostage-taking and other war crimes, as well as murder and unlawful detention, which constitute crimes against humanity.
• Governments with influence over Palestinian armed groups should push for the urgent release of all civilian hostages.

(Jerusalem) – Hamas’ military wing, the Izz al-Qassam Brigades, and at least four other Palestinian armed groups committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Governments with influence over the armed groups should push for the urgent release of the civilian hostages, an ongoing war crime, and for those responsible to be brought to justice.

The 236-page report, “‘I Can’t Erase All the Blood from My Mind’: Palestinian Armed Groups’ October 7 Assault on Israel,” documents several dozen cases of serious violations of international humanitarian law by Palestinian armed groups at nearly all of the civilian attack sites on October 7. These include war crimes and crimes against humanity such as murder, hostage-taking, and other serious offenses. Human Rights Watch also examined the role of various armed groups and their coordination before and during the attacks. Previous Human Rights Watch reports have covered numerous serious violations by Israeli forces in Gaza since October 7.

“Human Rights Watch’s research has found that the Hamas-led attack on October 7 was aimed at killing civilians and taking as many people hostage as possible,” said Ida Sawyer, crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch. “The October 7 atrocities should spark a global call to action to end all abuses against civilians in Israel and Palestine.”

Between October 2023 and June 2024, Human Rights Watch interviewed 144 people, including 94 Israelis and other citizens who witnessed the October 7 attack, as well as victims’ families, first responders, and medical experts. Researchers also reviewed and analyzed more than 280 photographs and videos taken during the attack and posted on social media or shared directly with Human Rights Watch.

On the morning of October 7, Hamas-led Palestinian armed groups carried out numerous coordinated attacks, including on residential settlements and social events, as well as on Israeli military bases in southern Israel bordering the Gaza Strip. The armed groups attacked at least 19 kibbutzim and 5 moshavim (cooperative communities), the towns of Sderot and Ofakim, two music festivals, and a beach party. The fighting lasted most of the day, and in some cases longer.

At many attack sites, Palestinian fighters fired directly at civilians, often at close range, as they tried to flee, and at people driving through the area. The attackers threw grenades, shot into shelters, and fired anti-tank grenades at houses. They set fire to houses, burned and suffocated people, and forced out others they shot or captured. They took dozens hostage and summarily killed others.

Nirit Hunwald, a nurse from Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 civilians were killed, described how she dragged a wounded member of a rapid response team to the kibbutz’s dental clinic to have his wounds treated: “There was a trail of blood. I can’t erase it from my memory, all that blood.”

Agence France-Presse reviewed numerous data sources and found that 815 of the 1,195 people killed on October 7 were civilians. The armed groups took 251 civilians and members of the Israeli security forces hostage and brought them to Gaza. On July 1, according to AFP, 116 civilians remained in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 42 killed. The bodies of another 35 killed were returned to Israel.

The attack was led by the Izz al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, the Palestinian movement that has ruled the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip since 2007. Human Rights Watch confirmed the involvement of four other Palestinian armed groups based on the headbands the fighters wore to indicate their affiliation and the claims of responsibility they posted on their Telegram social media channels.

The armed groups committed numerous violations of the Laws of War which amount to war crimes, including attacks on civilians and civilian objects, intentional killing of people in custody, cruel and other inhuman treatment, crimes related to sexual and gender-based violence, hostage-taking, mutilation and desecration of corpses, use of human shields, and looting and pillage.

The large-scale attack was directed against the civilian population. The killing of civilians and the taking of hostages were central objectives of the planned attack, not afterthoughts, failed plans, or isolated actions. Human Rights Watch concluded that the planned killing of civilians and the taking of hostages were crimes against humanity.

Further investigation is needed into other possible crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said. These include the persecution of an identifiable group on racial, national, ethnic, or religious grounds; rape or other sexual violence of comparable severity; and extermination, where there was mass murder aimed at the “annihilation” of a portion of a population. These crimes would be considered crimes against humanity if they were part of an attack on the civilian population and the organization planned such an attack.

Hamas authorities responded to questions from Human Rights Watch by saying their forces had been instructed not to attack civilians and to abide by international human rights and humanitarian law. But in many cases, Human Rights Watch’s investigations found evidence to the contrary.

Survivors’ accounts, as well as verified photos and videos, show that Palestinian fighters searched for and killed civilians at all attack sites from the beginning of the attack. This suggests that the deliberate killing and hostage-taking of civilians was planned and well coordinated.

Within days of the attacks, Israeli authorities cut off supplies to the Gaza Strip population and blocked the entry of fuel and humanitarian aid to a minimum. Collective punishment – a war crime – and exacerbates the effects of Israel’s illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has lasted for over 17 years, and its crimes of apartheid and persecution of the Palestinians.

Immediately following the attacks in southern Israel, Israeli forces began an intensive air campaign and later ground attacks, which are still ongoing. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 37,900 Palestinians were killed between October 7 and July 1, most of them civilians. Israeli forces have reduced large parts of Gaza to rubble and displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s population and put them in danger.

All parties to the armed conflict in Gaza and Israel must fully comply with international humanitarian law. Palestinian armed groups in Gaza must immediately and unconditionally release civilians held hostage. They must take appropriate disciplinary action against members responsible for war crimes and extradite for prosecution all those subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“Atrocities do not justify atrocities,” Sawyer said. “To break the endless cycle of abuses in Israel and Palestine, it is critical to address the root causes and hold perpetrators of serious crimes to account. This is in the interests of both Palestinians and Israelis.”