Human Rights Watch details crimes against humanity perpetrated on October 7
Hamas responded to the new report, blasting the 'lies, blatant bias towards occupation, and lack of professionalism'
Human Rights Watch accused Hamas's military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, and at least four other armed factions of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians during October 7, according to a report released Wednesday.
Called "'I Can't Erase All the Blood from My Mind': Palestinian Armed Groups' Assault on Israel on October 7," the 236-page report details several dozen cases of violations in nearly all the sites.
The report urged governments to pressure the Palestinian terrorist organizations to immediately release the hostages. The continued captivity constitutes an ongoing war crime, and those responsible must be held accountable, the report said.
In response, the terrorist organization Hamas issued a statement slamming the report.
"We reject the lies and blatant distortion against the occupation, and the lack of professionalism and credibility, in the Human Rights Watch report, and demand its withdrawal and an apology for it," Hamas said. "The Human Rights Watch report adopted the entire Israeli narrative, strayed from a scientific research method and neutral legal position, and became more of an Israeli propaganda document."
"The organization reviews the Human Rights Watch report by scanning and presenting a comparative display of the events, the attacks, number of fatalities, the state of security detainees upon their release compared with Palestinian prisoners," the statement added. "We do not claim to be error-free, and we are always ready to examine any wrong behavior - if any - and hold accountable those who deviate from our values, and we will do this when the battle is over, but we will not accept deliberate lies against us and their resistance."