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PARIS — Throughout the two years of Israel’s war in Gaza, following the October 7 massacre, leading human rights organization Amnesty International has reserved its main criticism for Israel. In December 2024, the organization even used the term “genocide” to describe the actions of the Jewish state in Gaza, which angered Israeli authorities.
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Amnesty has now released a report showing that the organization is fully capable of denouncing human rights violations wherever they occur, including those committed by Hamas, the Islamist Palestinian group responsible for October 7, which still has control of the populated areas of Gaza more than two years later.
The meticulous report, entitled “Targeting Civilians: Murder, Hostage-Taking and Other Violations by Palestinian Armed Groups in Israel and Gaza,” concludes that Hamas and other groups such as Islamic Jihad have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. Amnesty’s investigation covers the October 7 events and the fate of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and other groups up until the release of the last surviving hostage in October.
Torture and sexual abuse
The facts described in the report are not new: the vast majority of the 1,200 victims on October 7 — more than 800, including 36 children, according to the report — were civilians. It documents the sexual abuse that occurred that day and during the long captivity of some female hostages. It also refers to the torture suffered by some hostages.
Amnesty’s message is that the law applies to everyone, regardless of whether they are governments or armed groups. This was already the International Criminal Court’s position when it issued arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders. The move caused a scandal, with Israel’s defenders, led by the United States, refusing to accept Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being indicted. Washington even imposed sanctions on the ICC judges.
Amnesty’s move comes at a time when international law is in decline everywhere, and it is well worth reminding people of fundamental principles.
What is resistance?
The report is significant in that it comes from an organization that was among the first to use the word “genocide” to describe Israel’s methods, and one that wants to show that it is first and foremost a defender of the law when it is flouted, regardless of the source.
But it should also prompt those who consider Hamas a “resistance” movement to question their views. Isn’t an armed group that commits war crimes and crimes against humanity, as Amnesty proves, disqualified from embodying “resistance”? Unless we want to run the risk of one day finding ourselves with a new “Khmer Rouge” in power, capable of the worst horrors.
Netanyahu’s defenders, who will rush to this report to proclaim “we told you so,” would be wrong to rejoice. The political disqualification brought about by Amnesty’s action applies to all those who violate international law, including Israel. Unfortunately, the reality on the ground shows that impunity remains the prevailing force in a world in full regression.
