Hamas Justifies Oct. 7 Massacre as ‘Self-Defense’ Against ‘Occupation’

Blood in houses when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Kibbutz Be'eri, and 30 other nearby communities in Southern Israel on October 7, killing more than 1400 people, and taking more than 200 hostages into Gaza, near the Israeli-Gaza borderl. October 25, 2023. Photo by Edi Israel/Flash90 (Edi Israel/Flash90)

Throughout the document, Hamas blames the United States for being complicit in Israel’s alleged actions.

By Shula Rosen

In a 16-page propaganda document, Hamas justifies the October 7th massacre, denies the group committed atrocities against civilians, and says its main goal is liberation from Zionist colonialism.

The document is called “Our Narrative: Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” and is dedicated to “Arab and Islamic nations” and “free peoples worldwide.”

The paper is divided into five sections beginning with a narrative about the history of the conflict with Israel from the Hamas point of view.

Even though the early part of the narrative is about the British Mandate, Hamas blames “zionist gangs” during that era for depriving Palestinians of rights.

The document says Israel is responsible for the “Judaization” of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and mentions a litany of accusations including unfairly imprisoning Palestinians and occupying Gaza (in spite of its removing its civilian population from the region in 2005).

Throughout the document, Hamas blames the United States for being complicit in Israel’s alleged actions.

Its chapter on the October 7th massacre alleges that it was an “operation…targeted the Israeli military sites… and sought to arrest the enemy’s soldiers.”

There is no mention of attacking the kibbutzim in southern Israel or the atrocities that were documented on the terrorists’ own video cameras, through forensic evidence and witness testimony.

The document neglects to mention the sexual crimes which were evidenced through the examination of corpses and testimonies from survivors and freed hostages.

The only mention of the hostages came indirectly later in the document when it blamed Israeli airstrikes for the deaths of Israeli captives in Gaza.

Hamas justified its targeting of civilians by claiming that Israelis who will, are or who have served in the IDF aren’t really civilians.

The document says, “It must be known that conscription applies to all Israelis above the age of 18,” and that “all can carry and use arms.”

It calls Israel “an army with a country attached.”

Later in the document, Hamas calls for an investigation into Israel’s alleged war crimes at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

The paper concludes by declaring the “Palestinian right to self-defense, liberation and self-determination,” and that it can see liberation by any means necessary.