Amnesty International Condemns Hamas for ‘Crimes Against Humanity,’ ‘Extermination’ Over Oct 7 Atrocities
Amnesty International charged Hamas with crimes against humanity for the October 7 assault on Thursday, detailing extensive abuses committed against Israeli civilians and hostages. The organization said the killings and kidnappings carried out in southern Israel met the legal definition of “crime against humanity of extermination,” marking the first time it has applied that classification to Hamas.
In its 173-page assessment, Amnesty reported that Hamas and other Palestinian factions orchestrated deliberate attacks on civilians, executed mass killings, and carried out what it called planned hostage-taking operations. “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 stated.
Investigators said the findings demonstrate that the harm inflicted on Israeli communities was neither spontaneous nor incidental but part of a strategy “explained by the leadership of Hamas and of other Palestinian armed groups.”
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Israeli authorities list 1,221 people killed in the assault. Of the 251 hostages seized—44 of whom were already dead—207 were taken alive. According to the report, 41 of those captives later died in Gaza. All but one of the hostages has since been returned under a ceasefire agreement, though the remains of Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili are still being withheld.
The group said the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades were “chiefly responsible” for the crimes, while Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, and unaffiliated individuals played smaller roles. Amnesty also documented sexual and physical assaults on hostages but said limits on access prevented a full accounting.
Alongside its findings on Hamas, Amnesty repeated its longstanding accusation that Israel committed genocide during the Gaza war, an allegation Israel denies, adding that such accusations take into account numbers of deceased obtained only from the Hamas Health Ministry that lacks independent verification and does not make the distinction between terror group members and civilians. The organization said last month it believes Israel “was still committing genocide” even after the ceasefire came into effect.
The publication follows earlier Amnesty positions urging the release of all civilians held in Gaza and calling for an immediate halt to fighting. It also comes months after the organization faulted Iran for using cluster munitions during the Iran-Israel conflict, describing that action as a breach of international humanitarian law.
