Was Oct. 7 a Genocide? Legal Analysis Questions Hamas’ Actions
Legal expert Gerald Posner argues that Hamas’ actions on October 7 could constitute genocide, citing evidence of intent and conduct.
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Three years after Hamas terrorists launched a brutal attack on southern Israel, killing over 1,200 people, a veteran investigator is challenging the global human-rights community to confront a critical question: was October 7 itself a genocide?
Gerald Posner’s Legal Argument
Gerald Posner, a lawyer-turned-author known for his book Case Closed, has published a detailed analysis titled The Genocide Case Against Hamas, in which he argues that the October 7 attack meets the criteria for genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Posner points out that international bodies such as the UN Commission of Inquiry, Amnesty International, and the International Association of Genocide Scholars have consistently applied the genocide definition to Israel but not to Hamas. He criticizes this selective application, emphasizing that the legal standard should be applied to all parties involved.
Genocide by Non-State Actors
Posner refutes the notion that terror groups cannot commit genocide. He highlights that the Genocide Convention explicitly covers private individuals and that courts have previously convicted non-state actors, including a Rwandan militia leader and an ISIS fighter tried in Frankfurt for genocide against the Yazidis.
He argues that Hamas fits the ISIS mold more closely than typically acknowledged, citing its 1988 charter, which calls for the killing of Jews hiding ‘behind stones and trees.’ Hamas officials have also made public statements encouraging attacks on Jews, including military orders to use makeshift weapons like cleavers and axes.
Intent and Conduct
Posner emphasizes that the legal test for genocide is not duration but the presence of ‘special intent’ to destroy a group as such. He notes that Hamas’ actions on October 7 included targeting civilians, with two-thirds of the victims being non-combatants. The attack involved house-to-house searches through over 20 communities, with specific instructions to kill as many people as possible and to target schools and youth centers.
He also cites evidence of sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, which he argues aligns with the precedent set by the Rwanda tribunal. Additionally, he references a recorded call in which a terrorist bragged about killing Jews with his own hands.
Comparative Analysis
Posner compares the scale of the attacks to the Srebrenica massacre, where courts ruled the killings of approximately 8,000 men and boys in a small town as genocide. He argues that the proportion of civilian deaths in the Gaza border kibbutzim is comparable to Srebrenica, and that the intent to kill was limited by the opportunity provided by the Israeli military response.
Posner concludes that the evidence points to a solid case for genocide against Hamas on October 7, urging the international community to apply the same legal standards it has used against Israel.
Source: Daily Wire
