Report: Hamas-Led Armed Groups Committed War Crimes on Oct. 7

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Facts

  • Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on Wednesday claiming that Hamas' military wing alongside at least four other Palestinian armed groups committed 'numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity' during the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel.1
  • The crimes range from intentionally killing and kidnapping civilians, mutilation of bodies, use of human shields, and looting to gender-based and sexual violence — including 'the posting without consent of sexualized images' online.2
  • These findings were based on interviews with 144 people and an analysis of more than 280 photographs and videos posted on social media or shared with the group’s researchers. Hamas rejected the report, calling its findings 'lies.'3
  • While the report could not gather evidence of rape and other sexual violence, the nongovernmental organization cited a UN report alleging it to be 'reasonable' to believe that incidents of sexual violence occurred in at least three locations across Gaza periphery.4
  • The 236-page document further called for governments with influence over the armed groups to 'press for the urgent release of civilian hostages, an ongoing war crime, and for those responsible to be brought to justice.'1
  • Around 1.2K people in Israel were killed during the Oct. 7 attack. The resulting war has killed more than 38K Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry.5

Sources: 1Human Rights Watch (a), 2Timesofisrael, 3BBC News, 4Human Rights Watch (b) and 5Associated Press.

Narratives

  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. This report is too little too late and only demonstrates HRW's token 'balance' to stave off criticisms of its anti-Israel bias. It took HRW over nine months to announce that Hamas committed atrocities on Oct. 7, yet it has been quick to attack Israel at any opportunity. Indeed, a senior editor at HRW left the organization soon after Oct. 7, saying that it has become tainted with antisemitic sentiment.
  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by The New Arab. Regardless of what happened on Oct. 7, none of it justifies Israel's genocidal response. Additionally, the report failed to mention casualties caused by the Israeli military, which utilized its infamous Hannibal directive to kill people before they could be taken into Gaza. HRW also relied on testimony from Zaka, which circulated now-debunked claims about alleged atrocities. This report only serves to manufacture consent for Israel's crimes.

Predictions