Hamas calls on Israel to allow impartial investigation into 7 October attacks Submitted by MEE staff on Fri, 12/26/2025 - 11:18 In 42-page document, Palestinian group rejects accusations it committed atrocities and lays out motivation for attack two years ago A Palestinian fighter from Hamas' armed wing in al-Bureij refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, on 7 February 2025 (AFP/Eyad Baba) Off Hamas has called on Israel to allow an impartial international investigation into its attack on 7 October 2023 and has rejected that it killed civilians or committed atrocities. The Palestinian group published a 42-page document on Friday, which laid out its account of 7 October, as well as details on Israel’s subsequent genocide and Hamas’ view on what comes next in the enclave. Around 1,200 Israelis were killed when Hamas and other groups launched a surprise attack on southern Israel over two years ago. A further 251 people were taken to Gaza as captives. In the new document, Hamas said that “Western media and Zionist lobby groups” had launched a disinformation campaign about the events of the attack. “The Israeli entity promoted a series of lies and fallacies about killing children and raping women, paving the way to proceed with an all-out genocide project that was pre-planned and aimed to erase Gaza from existence,” it said. The group said that in the days after the attack, it had offered to release non-military captives, but Israel initially rejected the offer. Later in November 2023, during a brief truce, around 100 captives were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. 'Death run': New film shot in Cyprus reveals UK military help to Israel during Gaza genocide Read More » Hamas repeated previous assertions that killing civilians was against its “religion, morality and education; and we avoid it whenever we can”. “The resistance did not target any hospital, school, or house of worship; it did not kill a single journalist or any member of ambulance crews. We challenge [Israel] to prove otherwise,” it said. It added that media reports, including from Israeli outlets, have revealed that Israel’s military bombed areas in southern Israel where Israeli civilians were intermixed with Hamas fighters, in what Hamas said was an example of the Hannibal Directive . Hamas called for an impartial investigation into civilian deaths on 7 October, as well as one into crimes committed by Israel against Palestinians , including the war on Gaza. In May 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced it had sought arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders , all of whom were subsequently killed by Israel, over charges of killing hundreds of Israeli civilians and taking captives on 7 October. The ICC prosecutor said the leaders bore criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity, including murder and extermination, as well as war crimes such as hostage-taking and cruel treatment of captives, and other serious offences. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, were also handed ICC arrest warrants for "the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts". 'Explosion inevitable' Elsewhere in the document published on Friday, Hamas laid out its motivations for the 7 October attack. It cited 77 years of Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, the 17-year blockade on the Gaza Strip, Israel's repeated undermining of the Oslo Accords, the rise of right-wing extremism, the targeting of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as the failure of the international community to address such violations. “The Palestinian resistance had repeatedly warned that this explosion was inevitable if the aggression and siege continued,” Hamas said. Hamas rejects US claim of aid looting in Gaza as 'fabricated' Read More » In over two years of genocide on Gaza, Israel has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and wounded over 171,000. The majority of those killed were women and children. Hamas said that Al-Aqsa Flood, its codename for 7 October, had achieved several objectives. These included bringing the Palestinian cause to the forefront of global attention, creating international isolation for Israel, exposing societal divisions in Israel, dealing a blow to normalisation deals with Israel, increasing the number of countries recognising a Palestinian state, as well as international arrest warrants for Israeli leaders and Israel being accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. The document concludes by saying that Hamas is rooted in the Palestinian national fabric and cannot be isolated. US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza envisions a future in which Hamas plays no military or political role. Trump’s plan, which backs the creation of an international stabilisation force in Gaza, was approved by the UN Security Council last month. The resolution passed by a vote of 13–0, with China and Russia abstaining, and places Gaza under Trump’s control, with his “board of peace” overseeing multinational peacekeeping troops, a committee of Palestinian technocrats and a local police force for a two-year period. Hamas repeated its rejection of such plans in the document. “Our Palestinian people are among the world´s richest in expertise and competencies, and possess all the means to manage their own affairs. “Attempts to impose political trusteeship on them from any party are rejected and can only be considered a form of occupation.” Israel's genocide in Gaza News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0