Hamas militants accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) head to Gaza City to search for the remains of the final hostage, Dec. 8, 2025. JEHAD ALSHRAFI / AP
On Thursday, December 11, Amnesty International accused Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups for the first time of crimes against humanity, including extermination, during and after the October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
"Palestinian armed groups committed violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and crimes against humanity during their attacks in southern Israel that started on 7 October 2023," the human rights watchdog said in a 173-page report.
Amnesty said that the mass killing of civilians on October 7 amounted "to the crime against humanity of extermination."
The rights group has also accused Israel of committing genocide in its retaliatory campaign in Gaza, an accusation that Israel has vehemently denied.
