Gaza: Palestinian Islamist group Hamas called on Sunday for Israel to immediately stop its "aggression" in Gaza and said only Palestinian people would decide the territory's future. They argued that the October 7 attack on Israel was a "necessary step" against Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
In its 16-page report on the attacks, the group admitted that "some faults happened... due to the rapid collapse of the Israeli security and military system, and the chaos caused along the border areas with Gaza".
The document was the group's first public report released in English and Arabic justifying the attacks when they broke through Gaza's militarised border. Their attacks resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
The militant group said the attacks were "a necessary step and a normal response to confront all Israeli conspiracies against the Palestinian people".
The militants seized about 250 hostages during the attack. Israel says around 132 remain in Gaza, of whom at least 27 captives are believed to have been killed, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Israel's relentless bombardment and ground offensive have killed at least 25,105 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Hamas urged "the immediate halt of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the crimes and ethnic cleansing committed against the entire Gaza population". The group rejected any international and Israeli efforts to decide Gaza's post-war future.
"We stress that the Palestinian people have the capacity to decide their future and to arrange their internal affairs," the statement said, adding that "no party in the world" had the right to decide on their behalf.
The October 7 attacks by Hamas resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized about 250 hostages during the October attacks. Israel says around 132 remain in Gaza, of whom at least 27 captives are believed to have been killed, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under intense pressure to return the hostages and account for security failings surrounding the October attacks.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says about 1.7 million people have been displaced in Gaza, with about one million crowded into the Rafah area. UN agencies have warned better aid access is needed urgently as famine and disease loom.
Diplomatic efforts have sought to secure scaled-up aid deliveries for Gaza and a truce after a week-long cessation of hostilities in November saw Hamas release dozens of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
