October 7 Attack: Amnesty International Accuses Hamas of Crimes Against Humanity

Paris: For the first time, Amnesty International has accused Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups of committing crimes against humanity, including extermination, during and after the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war. The human rights organisation released a 173-page report detailing the violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed by these groups.

According to the report, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups were responsible for the mass killing of civilians in Israel on October 7, which Amnesty International considers “to the crime against humanity of extermination.”

“Palestinian armed groups committed violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and crimes against humanity during their attacks in southern Israel that started on 7 October 2023,” the report by the human rights watchdog read.

Other crimes listed include murder, imprisonment, torture, enforced disappearance and sexual violence.

Amnesty International has called on Hamas, Israel and the Palestinian Authority to investigate and prosecute the offences. Amnesty said that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza “continued to commit violations and crimes under international law in their holding and mistreatment of hostages and the withholding of bodies seized.”

The rights group has also accused Israel of committing genocide in its retaliatory campaign in Gaza, an accusation that Israel has vehemently denied.