Daijiworld Media Network - Gaza
Gaza, Dec 11: Amnesty International has issued a hard-hitting report accusing Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups of committing crimes against humanity, including extermination, during and after the October 7, 2023 attack that plunged the region into one of its deadliest conflicts in decades. The 173-page report states that the mass killing of civilians in southern Israel on that day amounted to “the crime against humanity of extermination”, marking the first time the global rights watchdog has levelled charges of this scale against Hamas.
The organisation said that the assault, which left 1,221 people dead, was followed by continued violations in the form of hostage-taking, mistreatment of captives and the withholding of bodies. Amnesty noted that the kidnapping of civilians was not a spontaneous act but part of a clearly outlined plan by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. A total of 251 people were taken hostage on October 7, including 44 who were already deceased, and of the 207 taken alive, 41 died while in captivity. All surviving hostages have since been returned as part of a ceasefire arrangement, barring the body of one Israeli officer which remains unaccounted for.
The report lists murder, torture, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, rape and other forms of sexual violence among the crimes committed, though Amnesty clarified that limited access to survivors prevented a full assessment of the scale of sexual violence. According to the findings, Hamas and its armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, were chiefly responsible for the atrocities, while Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and some unaffiliated civilians played secondary roles.
Amnesty’s publication also revisits the International Criminal Court’s move in May 2024 to seek arrest warrants for Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar. The applications were later withdrawn after all three were killed in separate Israeli strikes. At the same time, Amnesty reiterated its earlier accusation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, a charge that Israel has strongly denied as fabricated and politically driven. The ICC currently maintains active arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed more than 70,369 people in Gaza, according to figures released by the enclave’s health ministry and considered reliable by the United Nations. Amnesty said that even after the ceasefire came into effect on October 10, Israel continues to commit acts that, in its assessment, constitute genocide, intensifying the global spotlight on the war and the conduct of both sides.