‘October 7 attacks in southern Israel were a necessary step against Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories’, said the Islamist group Hamas while admitting in a 16-page report that “some faults happened due to the rapid collapse of the Israeli security and its military system”.
The attack resulted in over 1,140 deaths, mostly civilians. Around 700 Israeli civilians and 76 foreigners were among the dead, with one Israeli still missing, according to a report published by AFP.
During the attack, the gunmen seized around 250 hostages, as per the latest Israeli figures. Around 132 captives remain in Gaza, of whom at least 27 are believed to have been killed, the officials said.
Israel retaliated by declaring war to destroy Hamas and deployed tens of thousands of troops along the Gaza frontier and on the northern border with Lebanon. The counterattack killed at least 25,105 people in Gaza, mostly women, children, and adolescents.
“If there was any case of targeting civilians it happened accidently and in the course of the confrontation with the occupation forces. Many Israelis were killed by the Israeli army and police due to their confusion,” the report read.
“We stress that the Palestinian people can decide their future and to arrange their internal affairs. No party in the world” had the right to decide on their behalf,” it added as quoted by AFP.
Notably, this was the group’s first public report, published in Arabic and English, that provided background information on the attack that occurred when the militants crossed Gaza’s border.
Israeli military forces desecrate 16 Gaza cemeteries
The Israeli military, in its ground offensive in Gaza, has reportedly damaged at least 16 cemeteries, destroying gravestones, overturning soil, and, in some instances, exposing buried bodies.
One incident in Khan Younis involved the destruction of a cemetery. However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN that this destruction was part of an effort to search for the remains of hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7 terror attacks.
The IDF stated that one of its key missions in Gaza is to rescue hostages and retrieve their bodies, which justifies the removal of bodies from certain gravesites.
“The hostage identification process, conducted at a secure and alternative location, ensures optimal professional conditions and respect for the deceased,” an IDF spokesperson told CNN, adding that bodies determined not to be those of hostages are “returned with dignity and respect.”
It is to be further noted that deliberate damage to religious sites, including cemeteries, is generally considered a violation of international law unless specific circumstances justify such actions for military reasons.
(With AFP inputs)
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Published: 22 Jan 2024, 07:16 AM IST