Overview
- The more than 170-page assessment concludes Palestinian armed groups committed extermination on Oct. 7 and continued abuses through the detention and mistreatment of hostages as well as the retention of bodies.
- Amnesty states that the taking of hostages followed an explicitly formulated plan by Hamas leadership and allied groups.
- Primary responsibility is assigned to Hamas and its Al‑Qassam Brigades, with lesser roles for Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al‑Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and unaffiliated Palestinian civilians.
- Documented crimes include imprisonment, torture, enforced disappearance, rape and other sexual violence, with limited survivor testimony constraining estimates of scope.
- The findings come as the ICC maintains warrants for Israeli leaders and canceled 2024 warrants for Hamas figures reported killed, with 1,221 people killed in Israel on Oct. 7 and more than 70,369 Palestinians reported killed in Gaza by a source the UN deems reliable.