The Palestinian group reports on the events before and during the attack on communities in southern Israel.
The Palestinian group Hamas said there were “mistakes” in the Oct. 7 attack it led on southern Israel, but claimed its fighters only targeted Israeli soldiers and people with weapons.
In a 16-page report titled “Our Narrative” released on Sunday, Hamas, which rules Gaza, said it wanted to understand the background and dynamics of the surprise attack, which it calls “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.” “clarify”.
In its first public report since the attack, Hamas said it was “a necessary step and a normal response to counter all Israeli conspiracies against the Palestinian people.”
Early on October 7, Hamas militants stormed communities along Israel's southern fence into the Gaza Strip. At least 1,139 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attack and about 240 others were taken as prisoners, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on official Israeli statistics.
About 100 of the prisoners were released during a seven-day ceasefire in late November, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being released from Israeli prisons.
Israeli authorities have accused Hamas militants of committing war crimes during the attack, including torture, rape and mutilation. Hamas has strongly denied allegations of sexual violence and/or mutilation.
“Maybe there were a few errors”
According to the report, Hamas planned to attack Israeli military sites and capture soldiers, which could be used to pressure Israeli authorities to release thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
The group said it was “a religious and moral obligation” of fighters from Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, not to harm civilians.
“If there was a case involving attacks on civilians; “It happened by chance and in the course of the confrontation with the occupying forces,” the report said.
It added that “some errors may have occurred” during the attack “due to the rapid collapse of Israel's security and military system and the chaos caused in the areas near Gaza.”
“Many Israelis were killed by the Israeli army and police because of their confusion,” it said.
Israel responded to the attack with a devastating bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which has been under Israeli blockade for 17 years, killing more than 25,000 people – mostly women and children – in the area, according to Palestinian authorities.
Palestinian officials and human rights groups have accused Israel of committing war crimes in its attack on Gaza.
The Hamas report also addressed the issue of postwar Gaza, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepped up his opposition to Palestinian statehood.
“We emphasize that the Palestinian people have the ability to decide their future and manage their internal affairs,” the report said, adding that “no party in the world” has the right to decide on their behalf .
The report also listed the reasons that led to the attack, citing Israel's campaign to build settlements “and Judaize the Palestinian territories in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem” as well as the killing of thousands of Palestinian civilians from 2000 to this year.