Report reveals horrific crimes committed by Hamas against families during Oct. 7 massacre, calls new category ‘massacre’
In the early morning of October 7, 2023, the Idan family in Nahal Ozkibbutz was torn apart when Hamas terrorists infiltrated their home. As the family attempted to seek refuge in a safe room, terrorists murdered their eldest daughter, Maayan, in front of her parents and siblings, and then kidnapped her father, Tzachi. The scene was broadcast live on social media, forcing the nation to witness their painful final moments.
Meanwhile, at Kibbutz Howlit, 16-year-old Rotem Matias hid under his mother’s lifeless body and texted his sisters the heartbreaking news : “Mom and dad are dead. Sorry.”
In Kfar Aza, Roee Idan was holding his 3-year-old daughter, Abigail, as his older children looked on in horror when he was killed. Their mother, Smada, was also shot dead before their eyes. The children then hid in a closet, trapped with their mother’s body, unsure of their sister’s fate, and later abducted to Gaza.
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Bloody handprints were left on the wall of a house in Nir Oz days after Hamas terrorists attacked a kibbutz near the Gaza border. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
These are just a few of the countless stories documented in a new report released Tuesday by Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, founder of the October 7 Civil Commission on Crimes against Women and Children, Dr. Michal Gilad and Dr. Cochav Elkayam- Co-authored by Dr. Levy. The report introduces the term “kinocide” to describe the systematic targeting and destruction of family units during attacks, an unprecedented atrocity that transcends typical warfare.
As Dr. Elkayam-Levi described it, “For victims who have no voice, this is a crime without a name”. “The perpetrators not only killed people, they also deliberately destroyed the foundation of human society: the family.”
Dr Elkayam-Levi continued: “The most difficult crimes to witness are those involving families, although Hamas perpetrators celebrate their acts of violence, chant religious slogans and spread them on social media actions, but the horror is not limited to the immediate victims – it is amplified globally.
“The use of social media is critical in spreading terror and inciting similar acts of violence elsewhere,” Civil Council CEO Merav Israel-Amarant told Fox News Digital. Calling this tactic a “terror filter,” a term coined by legal scholar Tehila Schwartz Altshuler, explains how these broadcasts are designed to radicalize and incite other terrorists .
Israeli soldiers remove the bodies of civilians killed days ago when Palestinian terrorists attacked a kibbutz near the Gaza border in Kfar Aza, Israel, on October 10, 2023. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)
As Elkayam-Levi and her team dug deeper, they realized that similar tactics had been documented in conflicts around the world, from Argentina and Iraq to Syria, Sierra Leone and Myanmar. “We have been in contact with survivors of the massacre, including Yazidis, who have shared their experiences. This pain is universal. This has happened before but never had a name,” El Dr. Kayam-Levi said.
The commission, working with the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights, works to identify these patterns of abuse and ensure that the killings are recognized as a distinct crime. The new report, released after a year of research, includes interviews with survivors, visits to sites where atrocities occurred and an extensive review of evidence. Its goal is to bring the crime of genocide into international legal discussions, arguing for the urgent need to recognize it as a distinct crime.
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A woman collapses in front of the memorial to Yulia Waxer Daunov, where family and friends of the missing and abducted gather at the Nova Festival to commemorate October 7, 2024 marks the first anniversary of the attack by Hamas terrorists in Turkey. (Lionnier/Getty Images)
Professor Irving Kotler, former Minister of Justice of Canada and International President of the Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights, said: “Remaining silent in the face of such evil acts is not neutrality, but complicity. Worse still, there is denial and justification. , and even the glorification of these heinous acts, underscore the moral and legal necessity of taking decisive action against such crimes.
“We need an international coalition to address this systemic attack on families,” Elkayam-Levi said. “But international law has failed the survivors of October 7. The current legal framework does not adequately protect such Families under attack.”
An Israeli couple holding flags walk in front of graffiti calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the October 7 attack by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel, on November 18, 2023. (Jill Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images)
The report, endorsed by international law experts and human rights activists around the world, highlights the urgent need for legal and social recognition of the crime of genocide. However, despite the report’s widespread acceptance, Elkayam-Levi remains concerned about the international response.
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Her last report on sexual violence on October 7 was denied by prominent figures in the international human rights community, saying: “We are living in dark times and it is horrifying that international law is being weaponized against us (Israelis).” As an international human rights scholar, I never thought we would live in a time like this, and it really scares me.
