Draft:Palestinian civilian involvement in the October 7th attacks

Palestinian civilian involvement in the October 7th attacks refers to the participation of Palestinian civilians, including men, women, and teenagers, as well as journalists and UNRWA employees, in Hamas' October 7 attacks on Israel. This involvement included looting property from kibbutzim under the direction of Hamas militants, assisting militants in infiltrating homes, covering up militant activitiy, kidnapping Israeli civilians, and sometimes even killing Israeli civilians.

Civilians were seen assisting in breaking through the Gaza Strip's border fence and looting Israeli kibbutzim. There were reports of Palestinian women and children aiding militants by locating residents and looting homes. Palestinian children were documented assisting in the attacks, sometimes armed and directed to execute Israelis. Looting included tractors, agricultural equipment, vehicles, and personal belongings. Evidence presented by Israel suggested UNRWA employees participated in the attacks, leading to international condemnation and suspension of funding. Additionally, journalists documented the massacres and were reported to have encouraged the violence.

Hamas Takeover of the Gaza Strip
After the Islamist militant organization Hamas emerged victorious in the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was appointed Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority. As a result, a Palestinian unity government was established together with Fatah. The Palestinian unity government effectively collapsed with the outbreak of the Hamas-Fatah conflict in 2006-2007, which was a series of violent clashes between Fatah and Hamas that took place in the Gaza Strip. At the end of the conflict, between June 12 and 14, 2007, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip.

The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades - Hamas' military wing - and Hamas' executive force used live ammunition to capture government institutions and all areas of the Gaza Strip, killing Fatah activists who tried to resist and imprisoning many others. Since then, Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian support for Hamas and Intifadas against Israel
In a survey published by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research of Khalil Shikaki, 94% of respondents in the survey said they felt pride in Hamas's performance in Operation "Guardian of the Walls".

During 2022, several internal Palestinian surveys were conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research of Khalil Shikaki, and all of them showed that the majority of Gaza Strip residents who responded to the survey support an armed struggle against Israel and the renewal of the intifada as the most appropriate way to achieve Palestinian goals. A survey published in March 2023 found that 88% of Gaza Strip residents believe that the Palestinian Authority should not prevent armed groups from attacking Israelis.

In another survey conducted by Khalil Shikaki in September 2023, about a month before the outbreak of the surprise attack on Israel, it was found that 67% of the respondents, residents of the Gaza Strip, said they support an armed attack against civilians within Israeli territory. The survey also showed that if elections were held in the Gaza Strip, Hamas would win 44% of the votes, Fatah would win 32%, other parties would win a few percent, and 16% said they did not know or did not intend to vote. Another survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research published in early December 2023 found that support for Hamas among Gaza Strip residents increased after the war, and that 57% of Gaza Strip residents believe that Hamas's decision to carry out the massacre was correct.

Civilian involvement in the Hamas attacks
On the morning of October 7, 2023, Saturday, the militant organizations Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad launched a surprise attack on Israel. Under the cover of launching thousands of rockets, approximately 3,000 militants infiltrated from the Gaza Strip into dozens of Israeli communities and military installations in the Gaza Envelope area and its surroundings, engaging in gunfights against a few security forces. The militants carried out massacres and rapes, murdering and killing 1,150 people, including the massacre of 779 civilians, and abducted around 253 people to the Gaza Strip, including women, the elderly, and infants. In the initial hours, response units, Israeli police officers, YAMAM fighters, and IDF soldiers fought against them despite being outnumbered. In the battles, about 1,550 militants were killed on Israeli territory, while on the Israeli side, 301 soldiers, 55 police officers, and 10 members of the General Security Service were killed.

In a documentation published by NBC, a tractor is seen knocking down a section of the Gaza Strip's system fence, and dozens of Palestinians in civilian clothes are rushing towards Israeli towns and villages alongside Hamas militants.

Alex Namirovski of the Israel Police's Unit of International Crime Investigations noted that the detainees possibly involved in the attacks include teenagers aged 16 and 17, as well as some adults close to sixty years old.

Involvement in massacres
During the Nir Oz massacre, security cameras documented over 10 children aged 10-15 looting spoils from the kibbutz houses. Palestinian women were also documented assisting Hamas militants in locating Israeli residents. Sometimes Palestinian children were slipped through the window into houses to open the door from the inside. Many children were also seen walking with Hamas militants and laughing while the militants shot kibbutz residents to death or dragged them on the ground. Nili Margalit, whose father was murdered in the massacre and who was herself kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, testified that during the kidnapping she saw "thousands of people, children, women" Palestinians running towards the kibbutz.

Looting
Palestinian civilians were documented stealing tractors and agricultural equipment from Israeli kibbutzim. Tractors worth millions of NIS were stolen to Gaza by a Palestinian mob. Cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and credit cards were also stolen. Additionally, businesses were looted, and drinks and food products were stolen. In Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, testimonies were also collected about the entry of thieves after the massacre by the militants, the thieves shot doors and looted houses.

Involvement of UNRWA Employees
The State of Israel presented to the UN documentation and evidence that it claims prove that UNRWA employees participated in the massacres during the surprise attack on Israel, and that UNRWA facilities and vehicles were used to carry out the attack. According to Israel, it has an extensive file "implicating several UNRWA employees in the massacre, along with evidence pointing to the use of UNRWA facilities for terrorist purposes." Israel also claims that there is a structural connection between UNRWA and Hamas, and the names provided are "just the tip of the iceberg." 12 UNRWA employees were accused of their alleged involvement in the massacres. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres later clarified that nine of the UNRWA employees involved were fired, one of them died, and the identity of two other individuals involved in the case is still being clarified.

Involvement of journalists
According to video documentation published by Honest Reporting, Gazan photographers working with international agencies broadcast the attacks live on Instagram and celebrated them. The documentation shows Mohammed Abu Mustafa, a freelance photographer who worked with Reuters, and Bashar Amra, who worked with AP, Reuters, and APA, as well as the Turkish Anadolu Agency, documenting the massacres by Hamas militants and even encouraging viewers to join the raid on the Israeli communities.

In another case, photographer Ali Mahmoud accompanied the kidnapping of the body of Shani Louk, who was murdered at the Nova party, and her body was later kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. One of the photos he took won first place in one of the categories of the AP's International Pictures of the Year awards. In another case, a journalist named Hassan Atsalikh, who worked with CNN and AP, was documented accompanying the militants from the moment they left the Gaza Strip fences until they entered the envelope kibbutzim where the massacres took place.

Kidnapping
On November 20, 2023, the IDF and the Shin Bet revealed findings indicating that the Shifa Hospital in Gaza was used as a terrorist infrastructure to which Hamas militants kidnapped Israeli civilians. It was also revealed that the observer Noa Marciano was murdered by Hamas militants at the hospital. According to Noa's parents, she was murdered by a doctor from Shifa. According to NBC, it is likely that Noa Argamani and her partner were not kidnapped by Hamas but by a Gazan mob that invaded Israel hours after the initial attack. Hamas confirmed that the civilian population kidnapped Israeli residents. It even claimed that all the hostages were taken by Gazan civilians, not by it.

Public praise of the attacks
On October 7, many videos were published documenting expressions of joy by thousands of Palestinians civilians from all over the Gaza Strip, some celebrating the capture of IDF equipment as spoils. In one of the videos, Gazans are seen gathering in cheers and shouting "Allahu Akbar" around the pickup truck in which Shani Louk's body was brought to the Gaza Strip, spitting on her body.