What’s happened: A new report by the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) has confirmed and detailed how Hamas committed hundreds of war crimes on October 7th.
- Announcing the report, HRW associate director Belkis Wille told a press conference that “it’s impossible for us to put a number on the specific instances,” of war crimes; “there were obviously hundreds on that day.”
- The report itself finds that Hamas and other armed groups “committed numerous violations of the laws of war that amount to war crimes, including attacks targeting civilians and civilian objects; wilful killing of people in custody; cruel and other inhumane treatment; crimes involving sexual and gender-based violence; hostage-taking; mutilation and despoiling bodies; use of human shields; and pillage and looting.”
- The report rejects Hamas’s repeated baseless claims that the massacre did not target civilians, finding that “the intentional killing and hostage-taking of civilians was planned and highly coordinated.”
- “The widespread attack was directed against a civilian population. Killing civilians and taking hostages were central aims of the planned attack, not an afterthought, a plan gone awry, or isolated acts. Human Rights Watch concluded that the planned murder of civilians and the hostage-taking were crimes against humanity.”
- “Across many attack sites,” the report continues, “Palestinian fighters fired directly at civilians, often at close range, as they tried to flee, and at people driving through the area. The attackers hurled grenades, shot into shelters, and fired rocket-propelled grenades at homes. They set houses on fire, burning and choking people, and forcing out others whom they shot or captured. They took dozens hostage and summarily killed others.”
- While focussing on Hamas’s armed wing Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades as the planners and instigators of the attack, HRW also “confirmed the participation of four other Palestinian armed groups based on headbands the fighters wore to indicate their affiliation and their claims of responsibility posted to their Telegram channels on social media.”
- The report also addresses the question of sexual violence – a point of widespread denial from anti-Zionist and pro-Hamas activists. HRW says it “found evidence of acts of sexual and gender-based violence by fighters including forced nudity, and the posting without consent of sexualized images on social media.”
- It cites interviewees “who reported witnessing rape and other sexual violence” including “rape and gang rape, in at least three locations.”
Context: The HRW report is one of the most detailed international investigations into the massacres, which killed over 1,100 Israelis and saw 251 others kidnapped.
- The report explains that “Between October 2023 and June 2024, Human Rights Watch interviewed 144 people including 94 Israeli and other nationals who witnessed the October 7 assault, victims’ family members, first responders, and medical experts. Researchers also verified and analysed over 280 photographs and videos taken during the assault and posted on social media or shared directly with Human Rights Watch.”
- HRW is a harsh and long-standing critic of Israeli policy and accused by many pro-Israel advocates of being perennially biased against the Jewish state. In November 2023, an outgoing senior HRW editor, Danielle Haas, claimed that the organisation’s work on Israel-Palestine had become increasingly politicised.
- “Following the Hamas massacres in Israel on October 7,” Haas said, “years of institutional creep culminated in organisational responses that shattered professionalism, abandoned principles of accuracy and fairness, and surrendered its duty to stand for the human rights of all.”
- This report should, therefore, permanently discredit attempts by anti-Israeli activists to deny the facts of October 7th. It is a through and conclusive analysis by an organisation not usually predisposed to favour Israel.
- The report also called on states with influence over Hamas to press for the immediate release of all hostages.
- As negotiations continue between Israeli officials, Hamas, and US, Egyptian, and Qatari mediators, on Monday Defence Minister Gallant gave cause for optimism for a successful resolution.
- “When there wasn’t any possibility of a deal, I told you so,” Gallant said to a meeting of hostage families. “Now, there is, so I’m here to tell you: it’s closer than ever.”
- “The defence establishment is united. The IDF, Shin Bet and Mossad all [believe] there is no security obstacle to the deal that is insurmountable from our point of view,”
- Amid reports that there is a split between Prime Minister Netanyahu on the one hand, and Gallant and the security and intelligence establishments on the other on how flexible Israel’s demands should be, Gallant reportedly told the families, “you should schedule a meeting with the prime minister before he leaves for the United States. He’s the one who decides.” Gallant said that progress would be “much harder after Netanyahu returns from Washington.”
- In response, the prime minister’s office said “in order to bring about the release of the hostages, the pressure must be increased on Sinwar, not on Netanyahu… the prime minister’s approach of military pressure and standing firm in the negotiations has advanced both objectives: both the return of the hostages and achieving the other war objective. Now is the time to increase the military pressure, because this is what will make it possible to get back live hostages at a price that does not endanger the State of Israel.”
Looking ahead: Negotiators are expected to reconvene later this week in a bid to reach a hostage/ceasefire deal.
- As the HRW report suggests, Hamas is responsible for the capture and holding of the hostages and it is incumbent on the international community to bring pressure to bear on the group for their release