The Hamas militant group stated Sunday that their October 7 attack on Israel was a “necessary step” against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian areas.
The panel noted in a 16-page assessment on the attacks that “some faults happened… due to the rapid collapse of the Israeli security and military system, and the chaos caused along the border areas with Gaza”.
The statement was the group’s first public report in English and Arabic, justifying the attacks after they broke through Gaza’s militarized border. According to an AFP assessment based on official Israeli numbers, their attacks killed approximately 1,140 individuals, the majority of whom were civilians.
The militant organization said that the bombings were “a necessary step and a normal response to confront all Israeli conspiracies against the Palestinian people”.
During the attack, the extremists captured approximately 250 captives. According to an AFP calculation based on Israeli numbers, Israel claims that approximately 132 people remain in Gaza, with at least 27 prisoners believed to have died.
According to the Hamas-run health ministry, Israel’s continuous shelling and military offensive have killed at least 25,105 individuals in Gaza, the vast majority of whom are women and children.
The Hamas movement called for “the immediate halt of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the crimes and ethnic cleansing committed against the entire Gaza population” .
The group rejected any international and Israeli efforts to decide Gaza’s post-war future.
“We stress that the Palestinian people can decide their future and arrange their internal affairs,” the statement said, adding that “no party in the world” had the right to decide on their behalf.