On 7 October 2023, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups carried out the deadliest attack against Israeli civilians in history. The unprecedented criminal assault left Israeli society reeling from immense loss, shock, and grief. A total of 1,218 people were killed in southern Israel or in Hamas captivity, including 882 civilians and members of emergency response teams. Among the civilian fatalities were 280 women and 40 children. A small number of civilians were killed by Israeli military fire, either during the fighting or in attempts to prevent their abduction by armed Palestinians. Tens of thousands were injured, and 252 people – both living and deceased – were abducted to the Gaza Strip. The overwhelming majority of the hostages were Israeli civilians, including women, the elderly, and children, the youngest only nine months old. The assault included extremely severe acts of violence, including sexual violence, some of which ended in death.
As of mid-July 2025, 205 of the hostages were returned to Israel, 148 alive and 57 bodies. Some were killed in captivity, either by their captors or as a result of Israeli military fire or bombardment. Others remain in captivity. According to testimonies from released hostages and videos published by Hamas, those still held are kept in life-threatening conditions, suffering from starvation and denial of critical medical care.
The obligation to avoid harming civilians and the absolute prohibition on abducting them are cornerstones of international humanitarian law and are basic, binding moral principles. These acts constitute war crimes, and most likely crimes against humanity – and B’Tselem unequivocally condemns them.
In addition to the fatalities of 7 October, from the beginning of the second intifada (Sept. 2000) until the end of July 2025, Palestinians killed 914 Israeli civilians, including 151 children under 18. Of these, 566, including 91 minors, were killed within the Green Line (Israel’s pre-1967 borders) and 348, including 60 minors, were killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
These civilians were killed, among other things, in suicide bombings, shootings and stabbing attacks carried out by Palestinians in population centers and on buses, as well as stone-throwing at vehicles and individuals. Among those killed inside Israel, some were killed by rockets and mortar shells fired by Palestinian organizations from the Gaza Strip toward civilian communities.
Palestinian organizations have offered various claims in defense of attacks against Israeli civilians. Some argue that “all means are legitimate” in the struggle against the occupation, or that the illegality of the settlements justifies harming settlers.
Such claims are baseless. Deliberate attacks against civilians defy fundamental human, moral, and legal norms. There can be no justification for the intentional killing of civilians. This is why international humanitarian law defines such attacks as grave breaches amounting to war crimes, which cannot be justified whatever the circumstances.
