Major reversal
Amnesty International Admits Hamas Committed Crimes Against Humanity
Last year, Amnesty International claimed Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. Now, they've admitted that the October 7th attacks were a crime against humanity, Hamas "chiefly responsible."
Amnesty International released a report on Thursday accusing Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups of committing crimes against humanity during the October 7 massacre and throughout the subsequent captivity of Israeli hostages. The findings represent the NGO’s most sweeping condemnation to date of the atrocities carried out that day.
The report, Targeting Civilians: Murder, Hostage-Taking and Other Violations by Palestinian Armed Groups in Israel and Gaza, concludes that Palestinian terrorists were responsible for the overwhelming majority of civilian deaths on October 7. It presents evidence that hostages were subjected to murder, torture, physical abuse, and sexual violence while in captivity.
While Amnesty has previously accused Hamas of war crimes, the organization had not formally stated until now that the scope and nature of the violence met the threshold for crimes against humanity. In the new report, Amnesty specifies that Hamas and other groups perpetrated murder, extermination, imprisonment, torture, enforced disappearance, rape, and additional forms of sexual violence.
The NGO places primary responsibility for the massacre on Hamas’s Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, saying they were “chiefly responsible” for the attacks. It also notes the participation of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and unaffiliated Palestinian civilians who joined the assault to a lesser extent.
Amnesty calls for the return of the remains of St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, the final hostage whose body has not yet been recovered. The organization reiterated its position from October, urging the release of all civilians held by armed groups in Gaza at the time, though its earlier appeal did not include Israeli soldiers.
The NGO’s stance has shifted repeatedly throughout the conflict. Last December, Amnesty accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians — a charge Israel forcefully rejected. But in July, Amnesty defended Israeli claims that Iran had violated international humanitarian law by using cluster munitions.
The new report is likely to intensify scrutiny of Hamas’s conduct and increase pressure on international bodies to classify the October 7 atrocities in the gravest legal terms.