JERUSALEM – Amnesty International announced that Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel and its ongoing treatment of hostages amount to crimes against humanity. The finding marks the most forceful conclusion to date from a major international human rights organization about the scale and nature of the atrocities carried out by Hamas. It also affirms earlier legal and evidentiary work by the Dinah Project, which produced the first comprehensive analysis of Hamas’s use of sexual violence during the attack.
The Dinah Project’s report titled A Quest for Justice, October 7 and Beyond, examined testimonies, forensic evidence, and verified documentation. The report concluded that Hamas systematically used sexual violence as a weapon of war. The project was co-founded by Prof. Ruth Halperin Kaddari of Bar Ilan University and experts in international criminal law specializing in gender based crimes.
Prof. Halperin Kaddari said the new position from Amnesty International is a significant development in the effort to secure justice for victims and to counter attempts to minimize or deny what took place. She said survivors and families have waited for more than two years for the international community to acknowledge the extent of the crimes. She added that Amnesty International’s findings confirm what the Dinah Project identified early on and should put to rest claims that the documented evidence was unreliable or exaggerated.
“For more than two years, survivors and their families have waited for the world to call these crimes by their name. Amnesty International’s findings confirm what we initially found, and they should remove any doubt of what happened on October 7 and to the hostages,” Halperin Kaddari said.
She stated that the use of sexual violence by Hamas was not a collection of isolated attacks. Rather, it was part of a deliberate strategy to terrorize Israeli civilians and degrade victims in ways that violate international law. “The atrocities of October 7 were not isolated acts, but part of a deliberate and systematic campaign of brutality in which sexual violence was used as a weapon of war,” she said.
Halperin Kaddari emphasized that recognition alone is not enough. She said accountability is essential and that Amnesty International’s findings represent a turning point. She argued that the international community must now ensure that legal processes move forward. This includes preserving evidence, supporting survivor testimony, and advancing cases in international legal institutions.
“Recognition is important, but it is not enough. Accountability is finally becoming a reality. Justice for these crimes is the test of whether the international community stands with victims or turns away and enables such atrocities to be repeated elsewhere,” she said.
The Dinah Project is making its experts available to explain the legal significance of the findings and to outline potential next steps towards accountability. Their analysis describes what constitutes a crime against humanity under international law and how the systematic nature of the attacks meets that threshold.
The organization has also stressed the need for consistent terminology and clear communication. It noted that the October 7 attack cannot be viewed apart from the ongoing trauma experienced by hostages kidnapped into Gaza, many of whom have described severe abuse. Amnesty International’s new assessment includes these abuses in its conclusion.
For Jewish and Zionist readers, the recognition by Amnesty International may represent a rare moment of alignment with a human rights group that has often taken positions critical of Israel. The Dinah Project says the focus now must be on ensuring that the victims receive justice and that the crimes are documented in a way that withstands legal scrutiny.
