H. Torture and mistreatment of victims including mistreatment of bodies

116. The Commission found significant evidence that members of armed groups severely tortured and mistreated victims in several locations. The Commission documented images, videos and information from victim and witness testimonies. The Commission also documented testimonies of first responders who assessed the status of bodies found in different locations, as well as bodies brought to a central sorting and identification camp named Camp Shura. The Commission concludes that acts of torture and mistreatment were widespread.

117. In most instances, the Commission could not conclusively determine whether victims were subjected to mistreatment before or after death. Additionally, several cases documented by the Commission could not be attributed to a specific location, since bodies had been removed from the scene of the crime and images of bodies were released centrally by Israeli authorities. Unfortunately, there appears to have been little or no thorough forensic examination of bodies undertaken by the Israeli authorities.

118. The Commission has documented evidence suggesting that some victims were subjected to decapitation and attempted decapitation. The Commision verified one such incident from kibbutz Nir Oz. A video viewed and verified by the Commission shows two attackers, dressed in civilian clothing and speaking in Arabic, physically abusing a victim who is lying on the floor with his eyes closed but who is still visibly alive. The Commission determined that the victim was a Thai national residing and working in Nir Oz. The victim’s shirt and right arm are covered with blood, likely from an abdominal wound. The video shows the attackers hitting the victim with a knife on his left shoulder. A few seconds later one of the attackers kicks the victim in the head and the victim tries to cover his head. One attacker then picks up a garden hoe and hits the victim’s neck. A few seconds later, another attacker picks up the hoe and repeatedly hits the victim’s upper neck, body and right arm. One of the perpetrators repeatedly asks for a knife and screams “God is great”. The video is cut at this point. Based on the available evidence the Commission concludes that this attack was committed by armed Palestinians in civilian clothes, likely belonging to the group who joined the attack on Nir Oz later in the morning.¹ The Commission could not conclude definitely which armed group committed the acts, or whether they were committed by civilians from Gaza directly participating in hostilities.

119. The Commission analysed digital materials released by Hamas military wing and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and found evidence indicating that at least three Israeli soldiers were decapitated in Israeli military bases on 7 October.

120. In the first case, the Commission viewed a video released by Hamas military wing on 7 October and geolocated it to the Nahal Oz military outpost. The video shows two bodies of Israeli soldiers. One body of an officer of lieutenant rank is seen lying on his back and appears to be intact, with the exception of some fingers of his left hand that appear to have been partially or fully severed . The video shows a man in civilian clothes standing upon the body with a knife. In a photograph published by Hamas, which was also geolocated by the Commission to the Nahal Oz military outpost, the same soldier is lying in the same position and appears to have been decapitated. Based on the analysis of the video and the image, the Commission concludes that in this case the soldier was decapitated after death. The second body appeared to be intact. Given that the video and picture were published by Hamas military wing, the Commission concludes that Hamas military wing was responsible for these acts.

121. In the second case, the Commission analysed another video filmed by militants on 7 October, depicting the aftermath of an attack on an Israeli military base, which the Commission was not able to identify. Four male bodies are visible in the video and are positioned next to a low structure. One body is dressed in combat webbing and another is in civilian clothes. Two other bodies are seen lying nearby, both dressed in Israeli army uniform. Both bodies appear to have been decapitated. The video contained no additional information about the victims and the Commission could not determine whether the acts were committed before or after death. The Commission could not conclude definitely which armed group committed the acts, or whether they were committed by civilians directly participating in hostilities.

122. In another video published on social media following 7 October, two masked men with Palestinian Islamic Jihad insignia are seen holding the severed head of a man. The video contains no additional information about the victim and the Commission could not determine whether the man was beheaded before or after death.

123. The Commission documented digital evidence of burnt bodies in several locations. According to some reports, the perpetrators used an accelerating agent which created very high temperatures and caused extensive damage to bodies. The Commission was unable to determine whether the victims had been burnt alive or their bodies burned after death.

124. Bodies of women were found in several locations completely or partially burnt. Some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition and/or decapitated. The Commission reviewed photos of the burnt skull of a decapitated woman found in Kfar Aza. The Commission also reviewed photos of a 12-year-old girl who was shot in the head and then decapitated.

125. The Commission found evidence that body parts were severed by militants in at least two locations, Nahal Oz outpost (see case noted in para 126 above) and kibbutz Be’eri. In kibbutz Be’eri, 80-year-old Albert Miles told his daughter in a phone call during the attack that militants had severed the fingers on his left hand. He was later shot and killed by militants.

126. A first responder, working at a central identification centre for victims of 7 October, told the Commission that containers with “special bodies” were received at the centre. He explained that these bodies included the bodies of children with severed body parts. The centre also reportedly received bags of severed body parts.

127. In October 2023, forensic pathologists from the Israel’s National Center of Forensic Medicine released three photos of victims’ bodies, stating they had been decapitated, with most of them burned beyond recognition.

128. Images and CT scans of victims’ bodies, published by the Israel’s National Center of Forensic Medicine, revealed indications of torture and extreme forms of physical abuse, including burning alive. In an interview with The Media Line on 6 November 2023, the head of the Center, Dr. Chen Kugel, shared the details of the victims’ autopsies: “The proportion of bodies we have received who are charred is high … Many have gunshot wounds in their hands, showing they put their hands up to their faces in defence. Many were burned alive in their homes … We know they were burned alive because there is soot in their trachea, their throats —meaning they were still breathing when set on fire.”

129. The Commission independently verified two images presented by the Center. One image of a CT scan displays charred remains of two spinal cords and two rib cages belonging to an adult and a child who were bound together with iron wire and burnt. An independent evaluation of the CT scan by a forensic pathologist confirmed the presence of the comingled human remains with metallic elements surrounding them and multiple fractures visible to the bones. The Commission could not ascertain whether the bodies were burned prior to death.

130. Another image depicts the body of an Israeli man, displaying signs of trauma. An independent evaluation by a forensic pathologist confirmed that the body in question exhibits signs of ill-treatment before death, including multiple blunt force trauma and burn marks on the forehead, nose and the left shoulder, suggestive of burning by pressing a hot oval object to the victim’s skin. The Commission verified a video from kibbutz Be’eri of two victims who had been burned in their car parked in the kibbutz. An independent evaluation of the images by a forensic pathologist concluded that the bodies of the victims were burned after death.

131. Messages sent by victims and witnesses of the attack on kibbutz Nir Oz indicate that some of those killed were also subjected to extremely cruel forms of physical abuse. This includes instances in which people sent messages saying they were being burned alive, that their houses were set on fire by the attacker s and they feared suffocation from the smoke.

132. The Commission also verified information on mistreatment and abuse of hostages held in Gaza. It will report on these cases in its report to the General Assembly later this year.

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Sources

Footnotes

1. See para 197. ↩