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Human Rights Watch finds intentional targeting of civilians by Hamas

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Monday, September 2, 2024

On Wednesday, a report by the organization Human Rights Watch concluded that the October 7 massacre was a planned and "systematic" assault on civilians by Hamas were hostage taking and killing civilians were "all central aims of the planned attack, and not actions that occurred as an afterthought, or as a plan gone awry, or as isolated acts, for example solely by the actions of unaffiliated Palestinians from Gaza, and as such, there is strong evidence of an organisational policy to commit multiple acts of crimes against humanity."

The organization also concluded that there were "deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians," according to the BBC. The organization also accused militants of war crimes, willful killing of persons in custody, sexual violence, mutilation of bodies, looting, crimes against humanity, cruel and inhumane treatment, use of civilians as human-shields, and torture.

The report says that "Across many attack sites, [Palestinian] fighters fired directly at civilians, often at close range, as they tried to flee, and at people who happened to be driving vehicles in the area." It also reported that "[militants] hurled grenades and shot into safe rooms and other shelters and fired rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) at homes. They set some houses on fire, burning and suffocating people to death, and forcing out others who they then captured or killed." The report stated as well that "They took hundreds hostage for transfer to Gaza or summarily killed them." The report concluded that based on "the planning that went into the crimes" and the civilian sites targeted, the attack was a crime against humanity.

Instances of torture, the report said, included dragging women by their hair and hitting and kicking hostages. The report also found evidence to support that there was "sexual and gender-based violence" including posting "sexualized images" online and forced nudity. The organization also said the extent of sexual violence during the attack "will likely never be fully known" due to the number of victims killed and trauma.

Hamas said that it "was clear in directing its members and fighters not to target civilians," although the report found it to be "false," saying that photos and videos showed gunmen looking for and killing civilians from the beginning of the attack.

Human Rights Watch also says it has strong evidence that Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Fatah joined the attack. BBC has reported that the group have taken part in exercises using tactics similar to those used in the October 7 attack.

The organization interviewed 144 witnesses and looked at more than 280 photographs and videos to make the report.

The October 7 attack killed more than 1,130 Israelis, including 373 members of the security forces, 695 civilians (including 36 children), and 71 foreigners. In addition, nearly 250 Israelis were taken hostage. During the attack, around 3,000 Hamas gunmen crossed the border, as well as Gazan civilians. Thousands of rockets are also reported to have been fired during the attack.


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