HRW’s Gaza Report: Fact-check Unveils Bias and Injustice

Over the past nine months, a well-documented genocidal carnage in Gaza has been unfolding daily, live and unabated in front of the world’s eyes. 

Today, the Human Rights Watch published a comprehensive 280-page report. And no, it’s not about the Gaza genocide.

The report does not focus on the unbearable civilian death toll, the numerous massacres committed within a few hours of each other daily, the decayed bodies scattered in the streets, the children dying from man-made famine, the beheaded children due to the use of heavy bombs, the bodies cut into pieces, the more than 9,000 abductees, or the disturbing reports of torture and rape from Sde Teiman and other Israeli prisons.

Unsurprisingly, the HRW report perpetuates a longstanding Western narrative that serves to whitewash the current Israeli atrocities being committed in Gaza by the Israeli occupation. Nothing new as the report turns a blind eye to the fact that these actions have been ongoing since 1948.

This article aims to fact-check the HRW findings and address the discrepancies between their conclusions and the broader historical and factual context.

Context missing: A dive into HRW report flawed narrative 

The HRW report fails to adequately address the historical context, which is crucial for understanding the reasons behind Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

By neglecting this context, the HRW’s report offers a limited perspective that obscures the deeper roots of the current situation.

In depth, the report is almost devoid of context. Although it attempts to legitimize the Israeli genocidal actions in Gaza by limiting them to the events that unfolded on October 7, it fails to contextualize October 7 itself: in terms of the occupation, ongoing Israeli crimes, or even the total blockade, except for a general introduction to the report.

On several occasions, Palestinian Resistance factions explained the reasons behind Operation Al-Aqsa Flood from a historical, political, and humanitarian perspective as they sought to debunk Israeli lies about the operation.

Hamas argued that the Palestinian people could not be expected to keep waiting and counting on the United Nations, which it described as “helpless”, saying their only option was to “take the initiative in defending the Palestinian people, lands, rights, and sanctities.” Hamas underlined that its actions fall into self-defense, which is a right enshrined in international laws and conventions.

Last January, Hamas published a memorandum titled: “Our Narrative… Operation al-Aqsa Flood,” in which the Resistance movement explained the reasons behind the October 7 operation and the motives behind it, as well as its general context concerning the Palestinian cause and a debunking of the Israeli narrative and the accusations raised against the Palestinian Resistance.

At the time, Hamas underlined that the plight of liberation did not start on October 7; rather, it started “105 years ago, including 30 years of British colonialism and 75 years of Zionist occupation.”

Broad claims, no tangible evidence

The report focused on general headings without specifics, suggesting to the reader that these are definitive facts incriminating the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza. It also provided almost no evidence and did not refer to the long history of Israeli deceit and misinformation since October 7, including fabricating evidence or unfounded accusations.

This is crucial since the report relies on testimonies (many of which have been proven false) and untruthful officials. It also does not address numerous Israeli claims that have been debunked by various reports from famous international institutions and media outlets.

The HRW appears to align with Western narratives aimed at discrediting the Resistance in Gaza, portraying it not as a national liberation movement but as a malevolent force. This portrayal seeks to demonize the Resistance and, more troublingly, to justify the extensive casualties reported—ranging from at least 38,000 to 186,000 Palestinians, mainly children and women.

By focusing on general accusations and ignoring a long history of Israeli misinformation, the report seems to support a framework that justifies these significant losses rather than addressing the broader context of the struggle.

Human rights organizations, including HRW, supposedly have a critical role in documenting and addressing human rights abuses. However, they can also become tools for distorting public understanding. The report in question has been criticized for justifying, rather than condemning, the actions that contribute to the rising death toll in Palestine. The troubling trend suggests that some of these organizations are complicit in demonizing the Resistance of the oppressed and whitewashing the crimes of the oppressors rather than holding them accountable.

Such failure to confront the reality of war crimes undermines the credibility of HRW’s findings and raises questions about their commitment to impartial justice.

Overlooking facts that ‘Israel’ killed its own settlers

The HRW’s report also includes a broad heading accusing Resistance fighters of committing widespread killings of what the report refers to as “civilians” on October 7, presenting this as a comprehensive fact. However, at the end of the report, it acknowledged that settlers were killed by Israeli fire.  The report said, “….. Israeli tanks opened fire on the home. The fighters were killed, as well as 12 hostages who were killed in the crossfire.”

In a number of international and local reports, IOF officers admitted that they had authorized a tank to launch two shells at a settler’s housing unit in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.

It is worth noting that a video was released on October 7 by Israeli Channel 12 showing an Israeli tank firing a shell at a settler’s housing unit where Resistance fighters were allegedly barricaded with Israeli captives. Israeli witnesses also disclosed on several occasions that Israeli tanks targeted both settlers and members of the Palestinian Resistance on October 7, not to mention the Hannibal Directive applied by the occupation forces.

Check next: ‘Israel’ bombed its own settlements

“Israel” has a long history of accusing the Palestinian Resistance factions of committing the crimes it commits. One excerpt from HRW’s report particularly does the job for “Israel”: “This report details numerous incidents of violations of international humanitarian law—the laws of war—by Palestinian armed groups on October 7, 2023; it does not include violations since then. These include deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects; willful killing of persons in custody; cruel and other inhumane treatment; sexual and gender-based violence; hostage taking; mutilation and despoiling (robbing) of bodies; use of human shields; and pillage and looting.”

It is worth noting that the HRW mentioned five Resistance groups, attributing the aforementioned crimes to these groups without specifying which group committed which crime, if any, which is a basic expectation from an international humanitarian body with decades of scientific investigation experience.

Now let’s delve deeper into the HRW’s quote, whereby it leveled various accusations against the Resistance. 

For the deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects, it is “Israel” that has been carrying out brutal attacks deliberately targeting civilian populations and infrastructure without distinction since Oct 7, not to mention that Israeli soldiers have bragged and posted hundreds of videos while bombing and turning Gaza into a desert.

For the willful killing of persons in custody; cruel and other inhumane treatment; sexual and gender-based violence: It was Palestinian detainees and others who were subjected to severe mistreatment and abuse amid reports of sexual violence and other gender-based abuses.

Since October, at least 18 Palestinians, along with an unspecified number from Gaza, have died under horrifying Israeli torture while in Israeli custody.

The lawyer of the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Khaled Mahagna condemned, on Tuesday, the disturbing abuses, which he learned about during his visit to detained Gaza journalists Mohammed Arab and Tariq Abed at the Ofer detention center near Ramallah.

Mahagna recounted a harrowing account in which Israeli guards forced a detainee to lie naked on his stomach then inserted a fire extinguisher tube into his buttocks and activated the extinguisher.

He reported that other inmates had been subjected to “electric prods” being used on their bodies.

In response to international and local condemnations, some Israeli human rights organizations are pushing for a court order to shut down Sde Teiman, a military installation in southern occupied Palestine. They argue that the severe violations of detainees’ rights render imprisonment at the facility “unconstitutional and untenable.”

The detention camp has gained notoriety as a site likened to a “New Guantanamo”, where the Israeli army engages in the torture and killing of Palestinian civilians of all ages, including children, who have been abducted from various areas of the Gaza Strip since the onset of the war on October 7. 

Furthermore, the lawyer reported that Palestinian detainees were handcuffed during meals, which typically included just 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of bread or tomatoes along with some milk.

Mahagna cited journalist Arab’s account of witnessing a handcuffed detainee dying after being beaten for requesting medical attention. He mentioned that around 100 detainees had illnesses and injuries requiring urgent care. Additionally, Mahagna affirmed that some detainees had their hands bound before being attacked by dogs.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Society, approximately 9,600 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons and detention camps, including hundreds under administrative detention, which permits the military to detain individuals for extended periods without formal charges or court appearances.

Since 1948, Palestinian women and girls have faced abduction, detention, torture, and sexual assault by Israeli occupation forces in their prisons, with Sde Teiman being one particularly notorious facility. Often, their families are forced to witness these abuses.

Since October 7, images emerged showing Palestinian women and men being stripped naked by Israeli forces. Subsequently, testimonies from Palestinian men began circulating globally, revealing extreme forms of sexual torture and assault, some of which involved attack dogs.
 
For the mutilation and despoiling of bodies: In a heart-wrenching statement, the Government Media Office in Gaza revealed last January that the Israeli occupation forces committed a new atrocity, involving razing a cemetery in the al-Tuffah neighborhood east of Gaza City and desecrating approximately 1,100 graves. Following this heinous act, the Israeli occupation forces reportedly stole around 150 bodies of recently buried martyrs. These bodies were dug out from their graves and transported to an undisclosed location. This has sparked suspicions of yet another crime, specifically the theft of organs from the martyrs. 

For the use of human shields: Israeli occupation soldiers have used Palestinians as shields in the occupied West Bank and Gaza during their attacks, and it is evident in videos that went viral, yet not a single instance of Israeli captives being used by the Resistance as such was recorded.
 
For pillage and looting: Israeli occupation forces looted civilian areas in Gaza and the West Bank. They often also post social media videos bragging about their actions.

Such extreme cruelties precisely meet the definition of genocide with intent, illustrating why ignoring it is not just impractical but absurd. They highlight the profound challenge of genocide denialism that persists globally with the help of organizations like the Human Rights Watch.

The impunity given by the HRW report simply allows the killing of Palestinians to continue, as evidenced by Israeli soldiers boasting about it and documenting their actions on social media—insolently motivated by boredom.

Meanwhile, the timing of the HRW report raises significant suspicions about its underlying purpose. Released long after the events of October 7, the report overlooks many facts, giving it a hasty appearance. This timing, coinciding with ceasefire negotiations, suggests that the report may have been strategically designed to influence the discourse at a critical juncture.

In short, the HRW report suggests that when violence aligns with Western interests, it is more likely to be overlooked or justified by international organizations such as the HRW. This dynamic underscores a significant bias in reporting and analysis, which further erodes trust in the impartiality of these findings. One thing is clear: the organization’s name does not accurately reflect its actions; it is far from being a human rights organization defending the oppressed, and not the oppressor; the occupied, and not the occupier.