What really happened on October 7th? – International Criminal Court Calls for Investigation

Canada Talks Israel-Palestine

Over 1000 Israeli civilians were brutally killed on October 7th during the sneak breakout by Hamas fighters. Panic ensued and many atrocities were committed. Israel claimed all the victims were the result of Hamas’ antisemitic savagery. But contradictory evidence has surfaced. The Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has called for an independent investigation. Israel has denied him access to investigate. Read more…

“Since the 7th of October, I intensified my efforts to get in and access the locations where crimes were committed in Israel”, wrote Karim A. A. Khan, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in a written statement, “and I’ve similarly made every effort to enter Gaza, but it has not been possible.“

Israel has refused to join the ICC and has always opposed Palestinian membership because it fears what an ICC investigation would find.

Khan’s October 30th statement came as questions are arising over the veracity of the Israeli narrative of the deaths being caused by crazed antisemitic Hamas terrorists rampaging through Israeli towns. This story has been the principal moral justification for its murderous month-long assault on Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s Defence Minister has called the Hamas fighters “human animals”. Israel has carried out a very effective public relations campaign in Western countries showing gruesome pictures of civilian casualties. It has shown foreign journalists videos of murdered victims. And even taken the videos to Hollywood.

Disconcertingly, however, Israel has not allowed any foreign journalists to have copies of the videos to study. Israel claims it is because the videos are too upsetting for the relatives of the victims. But independent forensic evalulation of video evidence is commonplace in criminal investigations and is accepted practice in serious journalism.

At first the Israeli propaganda campaign included lurid atrocity tales – for which no evidence has been produced whatsoever – claiming that Palestinians beheaded dozens of Israeli babies and that women were raped. Some of those accusations have been walked back, but that does not stop them from continuing to circulate as fact on social media.

Who did it?

There does not seem to be any doubt that many atrocities were committed. But exactly what happened on October 7th is less clear.

Hamas fighters quickly took control of several military bases around Gaza

Reports have circulated indicating that not all of the Israeli casualties were caused by Hamas fighters. Yasmin Porat, a Kibbutz Be’eri survivor told Israeli radio that Israeli security forces “undoubtedly” killed a large number of their own civilians. (The full interview is here).

Other reports quote accounts published in the Israeli media that Israeli tanks shelled houses where Hamas fighters were holding Israeli hostages – under the so-called “Hannibal Directive,” a controversial procedure used by Israeli Defense Forces to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy forces.

These cracks in the official narrative appear to be causing concern in Israel. “Denial of Hamas Oct 7th massacre is gaining pace”, noted an article in the Israeli daily Haaretz. Discounting this counternarrative as “fake news”, the Haaretz article worried about what it called “conspiracy theories” that “Hamas didn’t plan to kill civilians and mainly targeted soldiers, that atrocities such as rape and beheadings didn’t take place, and that most of the civilians murdered were actually killed in an exchange of fire or by the Israeli army.”

“We have to be careful about these (Israeli) allegations’, argues former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter, (see interview at 25 min mark) in an interview with Danny Haiphong. Ritter investigated the now debunked US claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. He also spent many years posted in Israel and knows the IDF rather well. Ritter said dramatic claims like these are a common element of war propaganda.

What is known and what is not known?

According to reports, the Gaza breakout began at dawn (6:30 AM). Palestinian fighters flew paragliders over the Israeli barrier fence, attacking Israeli army communications towers and automated gun turrets. With these defenses disabled, they breached the fence with bulldozers at several points.  Massed fighters then crossed into Israel in trucks and on motorcycles. It is estimated that 1,200-1,500 Palestinian fighters took part in the operation. Over 1000 were killed or taken prisoner. Another 500 apparently returned to Gaza, taking a number of hostages with them.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters almost certainly committed massacres.  There are videos of fighters in uniform killing Israeli civilians. There are also videos of Palestinians taking Israeli civilian hostages back into Gaza. But by 10:30 AM, according to the Israeli military, most of the Hamas forces from the original invasion wave had already left, while looters, common onlookers and low-level guerrillas flowed freely into Israel – some of them picking up discarded weapons and going on a rampage.

Many homes in Kibbutz Be’eri appear to have been damaged by heavy artillery

Furthermore, several testimonies by Israeli military and civilian witnesses indicate that the Israeli military killed its own citizens as it fought to regain control. Israeli army photos of Kibbutz Be’eri tend to confirm Porat’s account, cited above, revealing damage to homes so extensive it could not possibly have been caused by the light weapons that the Palestinian fighters carried.

Israeli Apache attack helicopter pilots stated that they fired a huge amount of munitions, emptied the “belly of the helicopter” in minutes, flew to re-arm and returned to the air, again and again. The Israeli military ordered an airstrike against its own facility inside the Erez Crossing, filled with Israeli Civil Administration officers and soldiers at the time. CBC also reported that Israeli forces demolished the Sderot police headquarters with bulldozers, killing everyone, captors and hostages alike, inside.

What should be done?

The issue of what happened on October 7th is a life or death issue for thousands of Palestinians. The Israeli claim that Hamas was responsible for all of the atrocities and was motivated by an insatiable anti-semitism is fuelling the Israeli bombing campaign. Western countries who uncritically accept the Israeli claim are standing by as Israel kills more and more Palestinians. An urgent investigation is needed.

Canada should demand an immediate ceasefire, and join with the rest of the world community to demand that Israel allow the international Criminal Court, of which Canada is a founder, to carry out a complete and independent investigation of the events of October 7th.

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Via https://canadatalksisraelpalestine.ca/2023/11/13/what-really-happened-on-october-7th-icc-chair-calls-for-investigation/