“October 7”

Hamas’s incursion into Israel on October 7 transformed the politics of the Middle East. It re-inserted the Palestinians into the calculations of regional players and destroyed forever the belief their interests could be ignored.

But the attack, in which 1,154 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, came at a terrible price. Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip has left at least 31,000 Palestinians dead – 44% of them children. Israel justifies its actions by reference to Hamas’s attack on October 7 – specifically the "wholesale slaughter of babies and the systematic and widespread use of sexual violence as a weapon of war."

But what is the truth?

Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) has carried out a forensic analysis of the events of that day.  

It examined seven hours of footage from CCTV, dash cams, personal phones and headcams of dead Hamas fighters. It reviewed the testimonies of hundreds of survivors, military personnel and first responders. And it drew up a comprehensive list of the dead.

In October 7, the I-Unit reveals widespread human rights abuses by Hamas fighters and others, including the killing of 782 Israelis and foreign nationals.

But the investigation also found that many of the worst stories that came out in the days following the attack were false.

Claims that 40 babies had died, many beheaded, were untrue. Analysis of the list of the dead reveals just two babies died – one hit by a bullet fired through a door, the other following an emergency caesarean after the mother was shot. Neither was burned or mutilated.

The I-Unit looks also at events at a house in Kibbutz Be’eri, where the Israel Defence Force claimed 8 babies died.

The list of the dead reveals there were no babies there and that, in fact, the 12 Israelis who died were almost certainly killed by Israeli ground forces.

This was part of a pattern where Israeli forces appear to have activated the so-called Hannibal Doctrine which states it is better for hostages to be killed than taken captive.

The I-Unit calculates at least 18 civilians were killed by Israeli police and ground troops. One was killed by fire from an Apache helicopter and a further 27 hostages died somewhere between their home and the Gaza fence in circumstances that have not been explained. Gun camera footage from helicopters released by the Israeli military shows numerous individuals and vehicles being hit.

“My concern with this footage is we cannot tell whether they are Hamas gunmen or …. hostages. And I don't believe the helicopter pilot or the machine gun operator would be able to tell either,” says human rights researcher and British army veteran Chris Cobb Smith.

The film features an interview with Yossi Landau, the Southern Commander of Zaka, the voluntary organisation charged with collecting bodies. It confronts him with evidence that many of the atrocity stories Zaka relayed to media were highly questionable.

The I-Unit reveals that, while isolated rapes may have occurred, the evidence it was widespread and systematic is lacking. There is no forensic evidence and the hours of footage from October 7 and thousands of photos taken in the aftermath contain not a single image clearly indicative of sexual violence.

“To show that it was widespread and systematic, we would need a lot more evidence than has come to light to date and a lot more corroborative evidence than is being put out there,” says Madeleine Rees, General Secretary of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

The film "October 7" will be aired on Al Jazeera English at 12:00 GMT on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.