ALBAWABA - Human rights advocacy NGO, Human Rights Watch, accused Hamas, along with other Palestinian groups, of committing war crimes during its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.
The report documents alleged violations of "international humanitarian law by Palestinian armed groups at nearly all the civilian attack sites on October 7". The report also studied the role of various armed groups and their coordination before and during what Hamas called the "Al Aqsa Flood Operation".
Associate Director in the Crisis, Conflict, and Arms Division at Human Rights Watch Belkis Wille, stated during a press conference that "On that day, there were hundreds of clear violations of the laws of war, which amount to war crimes".
The investigation studied in-depth the course of incidents that happened during that day, which led to the raging war on Gaza, detailing a series of what counts as "war crimes" under international laws.
The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military branch of Hamas, the Palestinian movement that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, led the attack. Human Rights Watch investigated the presence of four additional Palestinian armed organizations.
In response to Human Rights Watch's questioning, Hamas officials stated that their troops were directed not to attack people and to follow international human rights and humanitarian laws.
Within days of the attacks, Israeli authorities cut off essential services to Gaza's population and blocked the entry of all but barely any amount of fuel and humanitarian aid, as a form of collective punishment, a war crime, and exacerbating the impact of Israel's more than 17-year illegal besiegement of Gaza, "its crimes of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians,".
Following the attack, Israeli soldiers launched a massive aerial bombardment and then a ground operation, which is still underway.
In response to the investigation, former ICJ lawyer Diala Shehadeh stated that HRW should have also taken into consideration what was also committed at the hands of Israeli forces on that day.
"Human Rights Watch should have explained that the investigations were incomplete in terms of the lack of any information about what the Israeli forces did," Shehadeh said.
Al-Aqsa Flood operation against Israel
Hamas military group announced on Oct. 7 a military operation called "Al-Aqsa Flood" against Israel which is the biggest offensive in decades.
Palestinian fighters “infiltrated” Israel from the Gaza Strip and captured military bases and took hostages as photos and videos went viral online showing Hamas fighters on vehicles inside Israel and others paragliding into occupation territory.
In response, Israeli armed forces announced targeting Hamas positions inside the Gaza Strip. Thousands were killed, and dozens of thousands of others were injured in the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
The latest statistics by the Ministry of Health in Gaza revealed that the death toll from Israeli brutal pounding on the Gaza Strip since October 7 has soared to 38,713+ people, with more than 89,166+ injuries.
Since then, approximately 85% of Gazans have been displaced, all of whom are suffering from severe food insecurity, and the healthcare system has collapsed. Hundreds of thousands of people lack shelter, and aid trucks are entering the area at a lower rate than before the conflict began.
