Palestinian armed groups in Gaza committed “hundreds” of war crimes during the unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), which published a report on the subject on Wednesday, immediately denied by Hamas.
The investigation, which is one of the most in-depth international studies to date of the attack that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, details a range of crimes that are not subject to statute of limitations under international law.
“It is impossible for us to quantify the cases precisely,” Belkis Wille, associate director of the human rights organization, told a news conference, adding that “there are [avait] There were obviously hundreds that day.”
These war crimes “include deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian objects, wilful killings of detainees, cruel and inhumane treatment, sexual and gender-based violence, mutilation and theft of remains, use of human shields, and acts of pillaging and pillaging,” the detailed report said.
“We reject the lies” in the report, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas said in a statement released Wednesday, denouncing “a blatant bias in favor” of Israel.
The report focuses on violations of international humanitarian law, a set of rules recognized by states for conduct in wartime, most of which are anchored in the Geneva Conventions.
HRW also identified “crimes against humanity” as “the planned killing of civilians and the taking of hostages,” the report said.
“Planned and coordinated”
Although Hamas is credited with instigating the attack, the report names several other armed groups that committed war crimes on October 7, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
“The reality is that the worst violence was clearly not committed by Gaza civilians,” Mr.me Will.
“This is a claim made very early by Hamas to distance itself from the events, and by Israel to justify its retaliatory operations,” she said.
Mme Wille instead stressed “the incredibly planned and coordinated nature” of the attack on towns, kibbutzim and military bases in Israeli territory surrounding Gaza.
In several locations, “fighters fired directly at civilians, often at close range, as they attempted to flee,” the report said, also citing grenades thrown into burning shelters or homes.
On the question of the extent of sexual violence committed during the attack, HRW cites a UN report published in early March which concluded that there were “good reasons to believe” that “conflict-related sexual violence” took place “at several locations on the outskirts of Gaza” on October 7, “including rape and gang rape, in at least three locations.”
Occupation and wars
The extent of this sexual violence “will probably never be fully established,” notes HRW, recalling that rescuers “most often” did not collect the relevant data and that many victims died.
In its response to the report, Hamas accused HRW of “[négliger] what preceded” the attack, citing the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories and the successive wars that have pitted Israel against the Gaza Strip since Hamas took power there in 2007.
Hamas again rejects the accusations of sexual violence, noting that HRW explains that it has not had access to information from the Israeli government on this violence, despite its requests.
HRW claims in its report that more than 815 civilians were killed during this attack.
The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
Of the 251 people abducted that day, 116 are still being held in Gaza, 42 of whom have been declared dead by the Israeli army.
In response, Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas. Its military reprisal campaign has devastated the Gaza Strip and so far killed more than 38,700 people, mostly civilians, according to data from the Gaza Health Ministry, which did not specify how many of the total were fighters.