Amnesty International, for the first time, accuses Hamas of crimes against humanity, 'extermination' during Oct 7 attack
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Amnesty International, for the first time, accuses Hamas of crimes against humanity, 'extermination' during Oct 7 attack")
A man walks by photographs of victims and hostages during a vigil outside McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on October 7, 2024, to commemorate the victims of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. Photograph: (AFP)
Amnesty International has, for the first time, accused Hamas of crimes against humanity over the October 7 attacks, calling the mass killing of civilians an act of extermination. The rights group also repeats its charge that Israel committed genocide in Gaza.
Amnesty International has, for the first time, accused Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups of committing crimes against humanity during and after the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. In a 173-page report released on Thursday (Dec 11), it said Palestinian armed factions carried out serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, during their assault on southern Israel. Amnesty concluded that the mass killing of civilians that day amounted to "crime against humanity of extermination".
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From war crimes to crimes against humanity
The findings mark a significant shift in Amnesty's position. While the organisation had earlier accused Hamas of war crimes, it said the scale and nature of the violence now met the threshold for crimes against humanity, particularly in the mass killings and the taking of hostages.
"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," it said.
Amnesty said Hamas and other armed groups "continued to commit violations and crimes under international law in their holding and mistreatment of hostages and the withholding of bodies seized." According to the report, the hostage taking was not incidental. “The holding of hostages was done as part of an explicitly stated plan explained by the leadership of Hamas and of other Palestinian armed groups,” the report stated.
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The October 7 attack left 1,221 people dead in Israel, according to official figures. A total of 251 people were taken hostage, including 44 who were already dead. Of the 207 hostages taken alive, 41 later died or were killed in captivity. All hostages have since been returned under a ceasefire agreement, except for the body of one Israeli officer.
The scale of sexual crimes inconclusive
Among the crimes against humanity cited by Amnesty were murder, extermination, imprisonment, torture, enforced disappearance, rape and other forms of sexual violence. The organisation said it was unable to assess the full scope of sexual crimes due to limited access to survivors, noting it could confirm only one such case directly.
The report said Hamas, including its armed wing, the Ezzedine Al Qassam Brigades, was "chiefly responsible" for the crimes. Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and some unaffiliated Palestinian civilians were also found to be responsible to a lesser degree, it alleged.
What about Israel?
Amnesty's findings come alongside its continued accusations against Israel. The group has said Israel committed genocide during its military campaign in Gaza, an allegation Israel strongly rejects. Amnesty reiterated last month that it believes Israel was "still committing genocide", even after a ceasefire took effect.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 70,369 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry figures, which the United Nations considers credible. Israel has dismissed Amnesty’s genocide claims as "entirely false" and "based on lies".
