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Hamas Terror on Israel

O. Perpetrators and accountability

  1. The Commission documented substantial evidence that the attacks on Israel on 7 October were led by the Hamas military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, together with other Palestinian armed groups. In addition to the al-Qassam Brigades, the Commission identified that the military arms of six other Palestinian armed factions participated in the attack: the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Popular Resistance Committees and the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement. The Commission found that prior to the attack, all seven groups were taking part in joint military manoeuvres aimed at “simulating expected enemy threats and increasing the efficiency and ability of resistance forces to fight in various circumstances”, which was overseen by the Palestinian Joint Operations Room. In an interview with Al-Jazeera in June 2023, Ayman Nofal, the Commander of Military Relations and a member of the General Military Council of the al-Qassam Brigades, stated that the Palestinian Joint Operations Room is an alliance of military arms of Palestinian armed groups, established in 2018 in Gaza to coordinate their activities against Israel. Nofal stated in the interview that the alliance is currently composed of the military wings of ten Palestinian armed groups, including the seven who participated in the 7 October attack. The Commission confirmed this information through additional sources including images, videos and statements issued by the Joint Operations Room.

Evidence of the involvement of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas military wing)

Section titled “Evidence of the involvement of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (Hamas military wing)”

  1. At 07:47 on 7 October 2023, the Commander of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed al-Masri (also known as Mohammed “Abu Khaled” Deif), announced the start of the offensive against Israel named “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”. The central role of al-Qassam Brigades in the attack was echoed by the Head of Hamas Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh. Israeli Security Forces later stated that the members of al-Qassam Brigades, led by the elite Nukhba unit, were the major perpetrators of the 7 October attack.

  2. On 8 October 2023 the Palestinian Islamic Jihad political leader, Ziad al- Nakhala, confirmed that his group was holding more than 30 hostages from Israel. On 16 October 2023, the official spokesman of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida, confirmed that Hamas was holding 200 Israeli hostages in Gaza, noting that some 50 more hostages were being held by other Palestinian armed groups. The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement and the Popular Resistance Committees also claimed to be holding hostages.

  3. The Commission verified information that the attack on kibbutz Be’eri was carried out by the Hamas al-Qassam Brigades, spearheaded by the Nukhba unit, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad military wing Saraya al-Quds Brigades. The participation of Hamas military wing in the attack was confirmed through statements made by Hamas itself and by a video dedicated to the attack on Be’eri, published later in the day on 7 October by al-Qassam Brigades, titled “Scenes from the al- Qassam Brigades storming the ‘Be’eri’ military site, east of the Central Governorate, and killing and capturing its soldiers during the Battle of A l-Aqsa”. CCTV and bodycam footage from the attack on Be’eri further confirms the presence of al- Qassam Brigades, as well as graffiti in Arabic left on one of the houses, reading “Allahu is great, al-Qassam Brigades, victory war”. The Commission found that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad also took part in the attack on Be’eri. Graffiti left on a house in the kibbutz read “Al-Quds Brigades, Sayyid Qutb”. The Commission also found that Palestinian Islamic Jihad took part in the abduction of civilian hostages. On 8 October 2023, the secretary-general of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziad al- Nakhala, announced that his faction abducted more than 30 Israelis during the 7 October attack. On 30 November 2023, al-Qassam Brigades published an official video of a joint hostage release together with Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

  4. The Commission verified information that the attack on kibbutz Nir Oz was carried out by at least 100 members of the military arms of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement and the Popular Resistance Committees. The participation of the Hamas military wing in the attack on kibbutz Nir Oz was confirmed by the Commission through the analysis of digital evidence depicting armed militants wearing the distinctive insignia of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades taking part in the abduction of the residents of the kibbutz, as well as graffiti left on the house of Ofer Kalderon, who was abducted during the 7 October attack. The image depicting the graffiti was published by the Times of Israel on 31 October, in Arabic reading “al-Qassam Brigades”.

  5. The Commission verified information that the attack on kibbutz Nahal Oz was led by the Hamas al-Qassam Brigades. In a video shot by militants during their attack on the Arava-Elyakim family in Nahal Oz, militants clearly identify themselves as belonging to al-Qassam Brigades. Later in the video, one of the Hamas militants is seen speaking into a handheld radio, communicating with other militants, likely also located in Nahal Oz. Based on the Commission’s analysis of the content of the communications and how other militants provided him with updates on their actions, the Commission assesses that the Hamas militant who was speaking on the radio held a command position in the attack on the kibbutz.1 Evidence of the involvement of the Saraya Al-Quds Brigades (Palestinian Islamic Jihad military wing)

  6. At 08:09 on 7 October 2023, the official spokesman of Palestinian Islamic Jihad military wing al-Quds Brigades, Abu Hamza, made a statement confirming the participation of the al-Quds Brigades in the attack on Israel, together with Hamas. “We are part of this battle, and our men are fighting shoulder to shoulder alongside with their brothers in al-Qassam Brigades until victory, God willing.” This statement was later supported by the official propaganda movies released by the al-Quds Brigades showing their attack on Israel and by the statements about Israeli hostages abducted by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad from the kibbutzim.

  7. The Commission verified information that Palestinian Islamic Jihad armed forces were directly involved in the attack on kibbutz Nir Oz. On 7 October 2023, the official Telegram channel of the al-Quds Brigades published a video titled “Scenes of the al- Quds Brigades storming a number of military sites and settlements around the Gaza Strip as part of the battle al-Aqsa Flood”. The edited video depicts armed militants arriving at Nir Oz in a vehicle and on motorbikes and infiltrating the kibbutz through its southern yellow gate and the breach in the western vineyard gate. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad video also shows them abducting an elderly woman, who is hauled into a white pickup truck. Two militants who appear in the abduction scene are armed with automatic rifles. The abducted woman was identified by the Commission as an 84-year-old woman from Nir Oz, which was confirmed by her family members.

  8. On 8 October 2023, the official Telegram channel of the al-Quds Brigades published another film depicting the attack of the group on Nir Oz. In the video three Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants are seen breaking into the house of 59-year-old Yair Yaakov and his 54-year-old partner and blasting the door of the safe room, where the couple were hiding, with a hand grenade. The video further shows the militants extracting the couple, who do not appear to be injured, from the safe room. In another propaganda video released by al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades at 12:35 on 7 October 2023, Yair Yaakov is seen being transported in a car and appears to have severe head and body burns.

  9. In another video circulated in Telegram and X on 7 October 2023 a 90-year- old Argentinian-Israeli woman from Nir Oz can be seen captured by a militant, who bears the insignia of the Al-Quds Brigades. The woman was forced to pose in pictures with the attackers but was not abducted by the militants, even though during the attack on the kibbutz eight members of her extended family were abducted and as of May 2024 two of her grandchildren remain in captivity. Evidence of the involvement of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (linked to Fatah)

  10. At 08:30 on 7 October 2023, al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades announced that they were joining the attack on Israel together with other Palestinian armed factions. At 12:35 of the same day, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades released a video with the title “Scenes of capturing enemy soldiers”. The video, filmed from inside a moving car, depicts a militant in the distinctive headband of al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades sitting next to a male Israeli abductee, confirmed by the Commission as 59-year-old civilian Yair Yaakov from kibbutz Nir Oz. Yaakov, lying on the floor of the vehicle, appears to have sustained severe head and body burns. In the video the militant pushes him with an automatic rifle, supposedly to make him move. The Commission could not definitively conclude from the film whether Yaakov was alive or dead at this point.

  11. Yaakov also appeared in the propaganda video of the al-Quds Brigades that shows the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants breaking into his house and capturing him, together with his partner.2 In the Palestinian Islamic Jihad video Yaakov does not appear to be severely injured, which implies that he was wounded and handed over by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad to al-Aqsa Martyrs before 10:23 on 7 October 2023.3 On 15 February 2024 it was announced that Yair Yaakov had been killed on the day of the attack and his body was taken to Gaza, where it is still held as of February 2024. Evidence of involvement of the Mujahideen Brigades (Palestinian Mujahideen Movement)

  12. At 08:19 on 7 October 2023, the Mujahideen Brigades announced their participation in the attack on Israel together with Hamas: “Leader of the Mujahideen Brigades: Our Mujahideen in the field, fighting side by side with their brothers in the Al- Qassam Brigades and the resistance factions, invaded the lands and caused many deaths among the Zionist soldiers and rapists.” On the same day, the Mujahideen Brigades published a film with the accompanying text reading: “The leadership of the Mujahideen Brigades inspects our forces storming the Zionist settlements perched on our occupied lands east of the Gaza Strip this morning, corresponding to Saturday 10/7/2023 AD” . The video shows members of the Mujahideen Brigades driving along a road inside Nir Oz in a pink-coloured quadbike.

  13. On 19 March 2024, Israeli Security Forces published three videos recovered from a street camera in eastern Khan Yunis showing three members of an Argentinian-Israeli family who were abducted to Gaza on 7 October, a mother and two young children. The video footage shows the three being escorted by a group of six unarmed men in civilian clothes along a dirt road of an urban district. I n a separate image published by Israeli Security Forces and verified by the Commission, the three abductees are seen standing in front of a dark-blue and grey pick-up truck surrounded by 13 unarmed men dressed in civilian clothes. According to Israeli Security Forces, the image shows the transfer of the three abductees to the Mujahideen Brigades. Based on verified digital evidence sources, the Commission assesses that the Mujahideen Brigades had some involvement in the abduction and captivity of the three family members. In addition to the videos and images noted above, in several statements issued by the Mujahideen Brigades, they claimed that the three hostages had been held by one of its cells and that its members died together with the hostages due to an Israeli Security Forces airstrike.

The involvement of Palestinian civilians

Section titled “The involvement of Palestinian civilians”

  1. The Commission gathered and verified evidence that civilian individuals from Gaza entered Israel and joined the militants in their attacks in several locations, including Nir Oz, Be’eri and the Nova festival. In several cases, the Commission was able to conclude on reasonable grounds that these people were not members of Palestinian armed groups but were civilians who were directly participating in the hostilities.

  2. The Commission notes that, in the photos and videos it verified, these individuals were dressed in civilian clothing (as opposed to the camouflage, webbing and other items of identifying military clothing worn by Hamas military wing and other non-State armed groups), were largely unarmed and followed a similar route into Israel from Gaza, based on analysis of routes from the Gaza Strip through breaches in the fence into Israel.

  3. In kibbutz Be’eri, the Commission found that unarmed men from Gaza in civilian clothes aided militants during the attack, abducted residents of the kibbutz and looted their property. According to information documented by the Commission, these men joined militants in the attack on Be’eri at around 08:30and were involved in the attack until at least 12:23.

  4. In Nir Oz, the Commission found, based on its analysis of witness accounts, videos and photos, that dozens of Palestinians in civilian clothes arrived at the kibbutz from Gaza, took part in the abduction of Israeli civilians, broke into their houses and looted property and belongings, ranging from agricultural equipment to personal items. Furthermore, according to some witness accounts and imagery collected, at least three women and several children from Gaza were involved in the attack on Nir Oz.

  5. Several residents of Nir Oz, who survived the attack, stated in media interviews that they saw Palestinians in civilian clothes entering and looting their homes. One resident of Nir Oz reported that the first wave of armed infiltration of the kibbutz was followed by the arrival of Palestinian civilians from the Gaza Strip, including teenagers, who looted her house, took cellphones and credit cards, and tried to make purchases with them inside Gaza a few hours later.

  6. Another survivor recorded the attack with a personal security camera installed at the entrance of his house. The footage, viewed by the Commission, shows young Palestinian boys and a Palestinian woman stealing bicycles and his female neighbour being abducted on a motorcycle. Another survivor stated in a media interview that “hundreds of civilians, including teenagers and women , storming our Kibbutz and just stealing, destroying things”.

  7. One released 16-year-old hostage described in a media interview seeing “crowds of Gazans” burning houses and looting the property of the residents of the kibbutz: “Bikes, tractors, mattresses, refrigerators, motorcycles, television sets, everything … I see the terrorists holding bags packed with things.” The Commission corroborated this statement by footage retrieved from various security cameras inside the kibbutz, showing Palestinians in civilian clothes stealing means of transport, such as bikes, and agricultural machinery, including tractors, from the village.

  8. Another released hostage told Israeli media that she had been abducted from Nir Oz by Palestinian civilians, who had later sold her to Hamas. In an interview with Israeli tv, viewed by the Commission, she claimed that a young Palestinian civilian had broken into her house. She assessed that he was possibly 17 or 18-years-old. He had stolen money and food from her fridge and then, with an older man dressed in a combat vest and armed with a knife, he abducted her to Gaza. According to the survivor, she had been transported to Gaza in a golf cart, covered with a bedsheet. The Commission corroborated this incident with additional evidence showing an abductee covered with a bedsheet, sitting in a golf cart, surrounded by three unarmed Palestinians in civilian clothes.

  9. The Commission also documented evidence indicating that a journalist from Gaza, who was filming the attack of 7 October, aided the attackers in their actions in kibbutz Nir Oz. The journalist was affiliated with the Saudi Al-Hadath news channel, whose watermark was on the footage he livestreamed. The journalist also filmed several abductions of Nir Oz residents.

  10. In one video he recorded and livestreamed inside kibbutz Nir Oz, he filmed the attack on the kibbutz, while encouraging the attackers and appearing to provide them with instructions. In the beginning of the video, he is seen addressing an approaching militant holding a bolt cutter, instructing him to quickly break the windows: “Hurry up with these closed windows”. Later, when filming the abduction of an 11-year-old boy, he is seen instructing the abductors not to hurt the boy: “These are settler children, spare them …. Don’t hurt them.” He also accompanied the militants who attacked an Argentinia-Israeli family and filmed the abduction of the mother and her two children. In the video, he is seen giving instructions to the attackers, telling them to cover her with a blanket: “cover her, cover her, and keep her alive when you take her.”

Attack aims, planning and coordination

Section titled “Attack aims, planning and coordination”

  1. In a statement issued on 12 October 2023, the official spokesman of the Izz ad- Din al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Obaida, said that Hamas leaders first proposed the 7 October attack in 2021. According to reports, preparation involved examining Israeli Security Forces tactics and strategies, terrestrial analysis, weapons’ supply and training those members of Nukhba forces specifically selected for the operation. According to reports, Hamas military wing planned to deploy 3,000 militants to the field and have another 1,500 fighters for reinforcement and support.

  2. According to videos, photos and statements distributed prior to the attack by the Palestinian Joint Operations Room (led by Hamas), the al-Qassam Brigades had been training militants for the operation together with other Palestinian armed factions as part of the joint military manoeuvres overseen by the Palestinian Joint Operations Room, also known as the Joint Operations Room of Resistance Factions.

  3. For example, on 29 December 2020, the Joint Operations Room made an official announcement about the launch of military manoeuvres aimed at “simulating the liberation of settlements near Gaza”. Four joint drills were then carried out over three years, with the last drill held on 13 September 2023, three weeks before the 7 October attack. The Commission notes that photos and videos of tactics used in the drills published by the Joint Operations Room closely resemble the tactics used by Hamas military wing and its allies in the 7 October attack, including infiltration simulation, raiding a mock compound and hostage taking.

  4. According to several media sources, Israeli Security Forces were aware of the planned operation and had been warned about it more than a year prior to the actual attack. The detailed plan of the operation, setting out “The Mass Invasion Plan of Hamas”, was reportedly presented by the Israeli Security Forces Gaza Division Commander to the Israeli Security Forces leadership in July 2022. Israeli Security Forces leaders assessed that implementation of the plan was beyond the capabilities of Hamas. Moreover, on 1 October 2023, the Israeli Security Forces situational assessment revealed a sharp increase in drills by Nukhba forces, which was a lso disregarded by the leadership of the Israeli army. The Commission has been unable to ascertain whether and to what extent the Israeli political leadership knew of these assessments.

  5. In an interview with the Associated Press published on 9 October 2023, Ali Barakeh, a senior political leader of Hamas, claimed that the operation was planned by a small number of top Hamas military wing commanders in Gaza and that the Government and military of Iran and the Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia allied to Hamas, were not informed in advance about the timing.

  6. In the days and months after the attack, Israeli Security Forces recovered and published documents, allegedly found with the attackers, that suggest the existence of detailed attack plans for each location. These included annotated maps, operational instructions and aerial photos. The Commission was unable to independently verify these documents but notes that, if these documents are found to be genuine and truly originated from Hamas militants, they would point to a degree of planning of the attack, the identification of civilian targets and the extent of intelligence gathered beforehand. The documents contained intelligence on the number of residents living in each targeted village, the proximity of the village to the nearest military base and explicit instructions to kill people, including the instruction to “inflict the maximum possible human casualties”.

  7. In the aftermath of the 7 October attack, Hamas military wing and other Palestinian armed groups stated to the media that their forces did not target or kill civilians. Several of these statements revolved around the definition of ‘civilian’.

  8. For example, on 9 October 2023, the Head of Political and International Relations of Hamas, Dr Basem Naim, told Sky News that no civilians were killed by the group because “Israeli settlers cannot be considered civilians”. This notion was echoed by the official spokesman for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Musab al-Breem, who stated to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation that “there is no such thing as civilians in Israeli society”. The Commission notes that this definition of ‘civilians’ does not correspond with the definitions contained in international humanitarian law.

  9. Other statements by leaders of Palestinian armed groups seemed to suggest that, if civilians were targeted and harmed, this was a result of actions taken by Palestinian civilians or accidental action by militants. In an interview with Al Jazeera on 12 October 2023, the Deputy Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, Saleh Al-Arouri, stated that al-Qassam Brigades were instructed to target only soldiers and that civilians from Gaza were responsible for the killing of Israeli civilians: “Hamas cannot harm civilians or prisoners, and we act in accordance with international laws of war … When the Israeli Gaza division collapsed, civilians from Gaza entered and clashed with the settlers, and civilians fell.” This version was later supported by another senior political member of Hamas, Moussa Abu Marzouk, in an interview with the BBC on 7 November 2023. In the interview Marzouk refused to acknowledge that the group killed Israeli civilians on 7 October 2023, claiming that “women, children and civilians were exempt” from the attack. He also mentioned that the leader of al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, had specifically ordered his fighters to spare women, children and older people: “El-Deif clearly told his fighters ’don’t kill a woman, don’t kill a child, don’t kill an old man’”.

  10. On 21 January 2024, Hamas Media Office released an 18-page document titled “Our Narrative… Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”, where it provided its version of events unfolding on and after 7 October 2023. The document claims that the al- Qassam Brigades only targeted soldiers and armed civilians during the 7 October attack and any harm caused to non-combatants was accidental: “Avoiding harm to civilians, especially children, women and elderly people is a religious and moral commitment by all the Al-Qassam Brigades’ fighters. We reiterate that the Palestinian resistance was fully disciplined and committed to the Islamic values during the operation and that the Palestinian fighters only targeted the occupation soldiers and those who carried weapons against our people. In the meantime, the Palestinian fighters were keen to avoid harming civilians despite the fact that the resistance does not possess precise weapons. In addition, if there was any case of targeting civilians; it happened accidently and in the course of the confrontation with the occupation forces.” The same document accused Israeli Security Forces of killing Israeli civilians during the attack: “Video clips taken on that day – Oct. 7 – along with the testimonies by Israelis themselves that were released later showed that the Al-Qassam Brigades’ fighters didn’t target civilians, and many Israelis were killed by the Israeli army and police due to their confusion.”

  11. The Commission notes that these statements contradict hundreds of individual items of visual material and witnesses’ reports that it has documented from October 2023 to January 2024. CCTV footage and footage retrieved from the bodycams of the militants clearly show members of the Hamas al-Qassam Brigades and other militants carrying out deliberate killings of civilians and mistreating and abducting civilians in all the attacked Israeli villages and towns, as well as at the Nova festival.

  12. Additionally, the Commission found statements of intent to target civilians in one bodycam video recovered from the body of a Hamas fighter. In the video, which was verified by the Commission, a group of militants is driving by the residential area of kibbutz Sufa on the morning of 7 October 2023. Recognizing the area as a kibbutz, one of the fighters starts screaming to the others: “Settlement, brothers! Cars, there’re people there! They look like civilians, it’s a settlement! Let’s go inside! … Settlers, brother, come on, enter!” In kibbutz Nahal Oz, Hamas militants filmed themselves frantically asking Israelis already in their custody where they can find other civilians. They then took Tomer Arava, a 17-year-old boy to try to lure other civilians to leave their safe rooms.

  13. Statements made by Hamas leaders during and after the attack contained messages calling for the ‘liberation’ of the entire state of Israel through the acts committed on 7 October. In an announcement of the launch of the operation on 7 October 2023, the Commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif, called on Palestinians in West Bank, Jerusalem and Israel to attack Israeli ‘settlers’, defined all of Israel as occupied and called on Palestinians to liberate all of Israel by killing, burning, destroying and shutting down roads: “ O our people in Jerusalem, expel the occupation forces and the settlers from your Jerusalem, and destroy the walls of separation. I say to our people in the occupied Negev, the Galilee, the Triangle, Haifa, Jaffa, Acre, Lod and Ramla: Torch the earth under the feet of the plundering occupiers – kill, burn, destroy and shut down roads … The day has come when anyone who has a gun should take it out. Now is the time. If you do not have a gun, take up your cleaver, axe, Molotov cocktail, truck, tractor or car.”

  14. In another example, a senior Hamas Political Bureau leader, Ghazi Hamad, said in interview on 1 November to LBC TV that Hamas is prepared to repeat the 7 October attack again until Israel is annihilated: “Israel is a country that has no place on our land. We must remove that country, because it constitutes a security, military and political catastrophe to the Arab and Islamic nation and must be finished. We are not ashamed to say this, with full force. We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do this again and again. The Al-Aqsa Flood is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth, because we have the determination, the resolve and the capabilities to fight. Will we have to pay a price? Yes, and we are ready to pay it. We are called a nation of martyrs, and we are proud to sacrifice martyrs.” Hamad also stated that, as Palestinians are the victims of the occupation, everything that happened on 7 October 2023 was justified: “The existence of Israel is illogical. The existence of Israel is what causes all that pain, blood and tears. It is Israel, not us. We are the victims of the occupation. Period. Therefore, nobody should blame us for the things we do. On October 7, October 10, October 1,000,000 – everything we do is justified.”

  15. In relation to taking hostages, Hamas and other militants also publicly and repeatedly stated their intent to take civilian hostages. On 8 October 2023, Mahmoud Mardawi, a senior political leader of the group, stated that the Israeli hostages “will be used as a strategic card … to curb the occupation’s aggression ”. On 9 October 2023, in an interview with the Associated Press, Ali Barakeh, a political leader of Hamas, claimed that one of the objectives of the attack was to take hostages: “We were shocked by the colossal collapse (of Israel’s army). We planned and expected to win; enter the settlements and get what we wanted and take hostages. But this army was a paper tiger.” Moreover, a London-based Arabic international newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported, based on sources close to the leadership of the al-Qassam Brigades, that during the incursion the al-Qassam leadership ordered its militants involved in the fighting with the Israeli Security Forces to occupy the Israeli army as much as possible so that the fighters in the settlements could take the maximum number of hostages. On 29 October 2023, Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, issued a statement to Israel concerning the release of hostages. He stated that Hamas was ready for a deal that would involve the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons in exchange for the release of all Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

  16. In relation to sexual violence, in the document “Our Narrative… Operation Al- Aqsa Flood” Hamas also rejected all accusations that its forces committed sexual violence against Israeli women. It states: “The suggestion that the Palestinian fighters committed rape against Israeli women was fully denied including by the Hamas Movement.” While the Commission was not able to reach a definitive conclusion with regards to rape, it verified information concerning the deliberate targeting of civilian women, including the killing, abduction and abuse of women, as well as the desecration of women’s bodies, sexual violence and other gender-based crimes. The Commision documented several cases where these crimes, including gender-based crimes, were deliberately carried out with brutal violence.

Sources

Footnotes

Section titled “Footnotes”

  1. See paras 181-187. ↩

  2. See para 244. ↩

  3. This conclusion was reached based on the metadata analysis of the video which revealed that the video was created on 7 October 2023 at 10:23. ↩