Israel National News reports: “Amnesty International has released a comprehensive investigation into the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, documenting widespread violations committed during the attack and throughout the subsequent captivity of hostages in Gaza. The 173-page report concludes that Hamas and additional Palestinian armed groups committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, torture, enforced disappearance and sexual violence.

According to the report, more than 3,000 fighters from Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades and other armed groups infiltrated communities adjacent to Gaza by land, air and sea following an initial barrage of thousands of rockets. Amnesty’s findings indicate that over 800 civilians were killed, with attacks targeting homes, safe rooms, bomb shelters and public areas. Civilians attempting to flee were hunted along roads and open fields, and several communities, including Be’eri, Holit, Kfar Azza, Nahal Oz and Netiv HaAsara, suffered mass casualties.

The report documents systematic hostage‑taking, concluding that 251 people were taken to Gaza, the majority of them civilians. Hostages were held for weeks, months, or in some cases more than two years. Amnesty states that all those taken were unlawfully held as hostages and subjected to psychological abuse, with many also facing physical or sexual violence. In several cases, bodies of the dead were seized and transported to Gaza, leaving families without information regarding their loved ones…”