Human rights group: War crimes committed by Hamas on October 7 were aimed at killing civilians

The Hamas-led attack in Israel on October 7 was “designed and planned” to kill civilians and take as many people hostage as possible, a leading human rights group said.

In a 236-page report, Human Rights Watch (HRW) concludes that Palestinian armed groups have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, sexual violence, physical assault and the use of human shields.

The global human rights group said its research teams interviewed nearly 150 witnesses, first responders and family members and reviewed more than 280 photos and videos for the investigation.

They described how fighters shot directly at civilians as they tried to flee, fired rocket-propelled grenades at homes, set fire to buildings containing people, and mutilated and robbed corpses.

They concluded that killing civilians and taking hostages were the “central objectives” of the planned attack, “not an afterthought, a failed plan or isolated actions.” Hamas has denied that its fighters violated international law and blamed the bloodshed on “chaos on the ground.”

“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 HRW. “The atrocities of October 7 should spark a global call to action to end all abuses against civilians in Israel and Palestine.”

HRW noted that previous HRW reports have highlighted numerous war crimes committed by Israeli forces in Gaza since the October 7 attacks, including blatantly illegal attacks and the use of starvation as a weapon of war.

HRW called on all parties to the conflict to respect international law and on governments with influence over Palestinian armed groups to work for the urgent release of the hostages – an ongoing war crime – and to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

It called on Hamas, which controls the besieged Gaza Strip, to immediately release the hostages and stop its unlawful attacks, including indiscriminate rocket attacks on Israel. It also called on the Palestinian authorities – based in the occupied West Bank – to investigate the allegations made in the report in a transparent and impartial manner.

“Atrocities do not justify atrocities,” Ms. Sawyer added. “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.”

On October 7, Hamas fighters and at least four allied armed groups and Gazans stormed southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage, HRW said. More than 100 hostages are still in the Gaza Strip.

Since then, Palestinian health officials have reported that Israel’s heavy bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 38,000 people, the vast majority of them women and children. Thousands of bodies still lie under the rubble and a crippling Israeli siege of the 42km-long strip has contributed to the creation of a famine, human rights groups have reported. The Independent.

For this October 7 report, HRW 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 over 280 photos and videos taken during the attack and posted on social media or shared directly with the group.

They concluded that armed groups have committed numerous violations of the laws of war amounting to war crimes, including attacks against civilians and civilian objects, the deliberate killing of people in custody, cruel and other inhuman treatment, crimes related to sexual and gender-based violence, mutilation and desecration of corpses, the use of human shields, and looting and pillage.

They also concluded that the “large-scale attack” was directed against the civilian population and that killing civilians and taking hostages were “central objectives of the planned attack”.

In response to the report, Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization in countries including the United States and Britain, said its forces had been instructed not to attack civilians and to abide by international human rights and humanitarian law. The militants attributed the attacks on civilians to “chaos on the ground” and said that people from Gaza and Palestinian groups unaffiliated with the organization poured into Israel as Israeli forces were overwhelmed.

Hamas rejected the allegations, calling them “lies and blatant bias” against Israel, and called on Human Rights Watch to retract its report and apologize.

In many cases, HRW says its investigations have found evidence that proves the opposite of Hamas’s claims. The detailed report contains shocking witness statements.

Simcha L, a member of the rapid response team in Kibbutz Mefalsim, where at least 10 civilians were killed, told HRW the scene was like an “apocalyptic zombie movie.”

“You could see bodies. … They were lying around in ditches, bodies burning in cars. There were bullet holes all over the cars. To the right of the gate there were dozens of bodies,” he said.

Lior Alush, a 24-year-old student who escaped a bloody attack on Zikim beach that killed 19 people, described the scene: “All the way home I saw dead bodies. I feel like I’m taking a driving test but navigating through dead bodies.”