Hamas executed, maimed dozens of Palestinians in Gaza, UN report says

Hamas executed, maimed dozens of Palestinians in Gaza, UN report says

Hamas executed, maimed dozens of Palestinians in Gaza, UN report says

UN rights office documents hundreds of extrajudicial punishments in Gaza, saying many were publicized to spread fear among residents

AP|14:29

Hamas terrorists and police units in Gaza beat, maimed and publicly executed dozens of Palestinians during the war with Israel in acts that amount to war crimes, according to a United Nations report released Tuesday.

The report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights documented hundreds of cases of extrajudicial punishment in the war-ravaged territory. It said many of the incidents were publicized during and after they took place in order to spread fear among Gaza’s population.

“These cases involved executions, kneecapping, bone-breaking with metal pipes or cement bricks and beatings and were framed by the perpetrators as punishments for alleged collaboration with Israel, looting humanitarian aid, theft, drug-related offenses or affiliations with internal rivals,” the report said.

                        

The commission found that Hamas-affiliated terrorists and police forces were involved in nearly a quarter of 249 documented cases, including 108 deaths, between August 2024 and January 2026. The commission specifically examined cases involving Hamas-affiliated forces, while also counting incidents attributed to other armed groups.

Hamas representatives did not respond to questions about the allegations in the report.

Hamas has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades, since seizing control of the territory from the Palestinian Authority. Since an October ceasefire halted more than two years of full-scale war with Israel, Hamas has worked to reassert its control in areas of Gaza it still governs.

According to the report, the punishments were not imposed by courts or judges, but carried out by Hamas’ military wing and police units.

Srinivasan Muralidhar, chair of the UN commission, said the abuses documented in Gaza took place in an “environment engineered by Israel,” where “Hamas-affiliated forces have exploited the vacuum created by relentless Israeli attacks and widespread destruction.”

Those targeted included anti-Hamas activists, members of Israel-backed clans and armed groups that emerged in areas where Hamas’ control weakened during the war.

The report cites executions recorded on video, including one case in September 2025 in which three blindfolded men were shot by masked men outside Shifa Hospital before a crowd. It also describes another public execution a month later, when eight men were dragged into a public square in Gaza City and shot. In both cases, the victims were accused of being spies, traitors and collaborators, according to the report.

The commission said the incidents “amount to the war crime of murder” and violate international humanitarian and human rights law, including the rights to life, liberty, security and a fair trial.

Other Palestinians, including children, were targeted with beatings and public shaming after being accused of theft, drug trafficking or illegally selling tobacco.

Witnesses also told the commission that some punishments were carried out in hospital compounds, including Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis. The commission said, however, that the activities it documented did not target Israel and therefore did not strip hospitals of their protection under international law.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals, schools and mosques to stage military operations and shield its fighters.