Ahead of the second anniversary of October 7, the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism has launched a new website entitled “The October 7 Files: Organized Evil” to document how the Hamas-led massacre was “the product of years of indoctrination, meticulous planning, and systematic exploitation of civilians.”
The website, which warns readers that it contains “sensitive material” that may be difficult for some to read or view, says it aims to “reveal the engineered terror behind the massacre” by way of Hamas “manuals, orders, and hidden intelligence” which “expose the organized evil that turned October 7 into one of the darkest days in modern history.”
The current war in Gaza erupted after Hamas’s October 7 massacres, which saw thousands of terrorists burst across the border into Israel by land, air and sea, killing some 1,200 people and seizing 251 hostages, mostly civilians, many amid horrific acts of brutality and sexual assault.
48 hostages remain in Gaza — at least 20 of them believed to be alive.
Speaking with the Israel Hayom newspaper, an official from the ministry said while the world “accuses us of genocide,” the site presents evidence to show that it was actually Hamas “who committed genocide on October 7.”
Get The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the terms
The Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry says the death toll from the war in the Strip has surpassed 67,000 but its tally does not differentiate between civilians and combatants and cannot be verified.
Palestinian terrorists drive back to the Gaza Strip with the body of Shani Louk, a German-Israeli dual citizen who was murdered at the Supernova music festival on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Ali Mahmud)
Israel has rejected claims that it is perpetrating a genocide in Gaza as well as disputing claims of widespread famine, although it has previously admitted “there are issues of access to food” in some areas.
Among the documents published by the government are Hamas papers and maps marking “kibbutzim, kindergartens, synagogues, youth centers, and other civilian locations” as targets and instructing those engaged in the terrorist assault to “kill as many as possible” and kidnap civilians as hostages.
A note to those participating in the attack found on the body of one terrorist insisted that “the enemy” was “a disease immune to medicine” and that “the treatment is to slice off heads and to rip out hearts and livers.”
In addition, a “Fighter’s Guidebook – Jihad Version” distributed by Hamas instructed members of the group to “spread fear and chaos among the civilians, tie their hands and blindfold them, use electric shocks on the hostages and execute anyone who presents a threat or distraction.”
The website also contains copies of Arabic-Hebrew Hamas phrasebooks including phrases such as “we will kill the hostages” and “take off your pants” — as well as detailed instructions on how to livestream the attack using cellular phones.
According to a government translation of Hamas’ operational plan shared on the site, when taking hostages, the “priority” was “children and women” and the goal of the attack on one kibbutz was described as “inflicting the maximum possible human losses, taking hostages, and establishing positions inside until further orders are issued.”
The operation order for the October 7 attack issued by the general headquarters of the military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. (october7files.com)
In addition, the government published Hamas’s “religious dispensations to murder and capture Jews or Israelis,” arguing that the group’s “inhuman crimes were ‘normalized’ religiously by radical Islamist clerics, who provided a distorted interpretation of the Muslim religion.”
These, the ministry stated, “were issued in addition to historic fatwas written on this subject, effectively legitimizing the murder of Jews wherever they may be,” referring to Islamic religious rulings.
It cited a 2015 Hamas book entitled Fiqh al-Jihad w’al-Amman, which the website said “explicitly permits the deliberate killing of enemy women, children, and the elderly if they are considered to be ‘assisting in the fight’ through sedition, encouraging the fighting (tahrid), expressing opinions, or any other form of support.”
One fatwa quoted on the site stated that “Zionist society is an armed society (‘musallah’) founded on land theft, desecration of holy places, and blood. Most of their youths — boys and girls — are conscripted. Therefore all occupiers from among the Jews are fighters, with no difference between men, women, the old or the young. They can be killed in battle, or regarded as prisoners of war if captured alive.”
“The October 7 massacre was not a spontaneous eruption of violence but the product of years of preparation, indoctrination, and systematic exploitation of civilians. Hamas combined military training abroad, religious decrees, and operational handbooks with detailed intelligence gathering to plan an unprecedented assault on Israeli communities,” the website argued, slamming Hamas’s “use of hospitals, schools, mosques, and even humanitarian institutions as shields.”
“In the aftermath of October 7, Hamas sought to manipulate global perception while continuing to exploit Gaza’s civilians,” the site contended, contrasting Hamas with Israel, which it said had been working with “international partners to expand humanitarian corridors, field hospitals, and aid delivery all while grappling with the rising toll of hostages, missing persons, and civilian deaths.”
Is The Times of Israel important to you?
If so, we have a request.
Every day, even during war, our journalists keep you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fast, fair and free coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
We care about Israel – and we know you do too. So today, we have an ask: show your appreciation for our work by joining The Times of Israel Community, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work.
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You appreciate our journalism
You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel