Firsthand Accounts of Gazan Savagery and Brutality
October 7 atrocities were not driven by political grievances but by a deeply ingrained hatred.
The events of October 7, 2023, will be remembered not only for their staggering brutality but also for the disturbing ideological forces that enabled such atrocities. The coordinated attack on Israel saw not only Hamas militants but also ordinary Gazans infiltrating Israeli communities, engaging in acts of violence that defy human comprehension.
Survivors’ testimonies, intelligence reports, and even footage filmed by the perpetrators themselves paint a horrifying picture of a society radicalised to its core, where even so-called “civilians” took part in unspeakable savagery.
The Reality of the October 7 Attacks
As the sun rose on October 7, under the cover of a massive rocket barrage, thousands of terrorists—by some reports 6000—surged across the border into Israel by sea, air, and land.
The first wave consisted of heavily armed Hamas fighters, trained and equipped for urban warfare. Their detailed knowledge of Israeli homes, roads, and communities—which allowed them to navigate with precision—could only have been provided by Gazan workers who, until that moment, had been granted work visas as part of Israel’s efforts to improve Gazan welfare and promote peaceful coexistence.
This malicious insider knowledge proved decisive. Terrorists targeted kibbutz armouries, vital infrastructure, and key defensive positions, ensuring that Israeli responders were quickly overwhelmed and communication lines to higher headquarters was severed. Many attackers disguised themselves in IDF uniforms, and some spoke Hebrew, further sowing confusion and chaos. Kibbutz security chiefs and quick response personnel—the first line of defence—were murdered in their homes or ambushed as they ran to retrieve weapons to protect their families.
Following this initial Hamas assault, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operatives—eager to claim their share of the bloodshed—joined the attack, further escalating the carnage.
But the two prescribed terrorist organisations were soon followed by another wave of attackers—masses of Gazan “civilians” armed with knives, hammers, and farm implements. These individuals looted, slaughtered, and desecrated with a level of cruelty that cannot be dismissed as mere opportunism.
This was not a spontaneous uprising—it was the culmination of decades of ideological indoctrination.
“Civilians” as Perpetrators
Some of the most damning evidence comes not just from Hamas fighters, but from ordinary Gazans who actively participated in the massacre. This was not mere complicity—it was direct engagement in the slaughter, documented by the perpetrators themselves.
Gazan civilians filmed their own crimes, proudly live-streaming and posting videos of their depravity.
These were not isolated cases of looting or vandalism—they were deliberate massacres, carried out with sadistic pleasure.
- One video shows a Gazan man gleefully playing with the decapitated head of an Israeli farmer as his friends laugh and cheer.
- Another captures a father in Gaza parading the bloodied body of a kidnapped young woman in front of his cheering children, shouting that she was a gift from Allah.
- A group of civilians filmed themselves dragging a naked Israeli woman through the streets while chanting “Allahu Akbar, “kicking her motionless body and spitting on her.
- A terrorist used an Israeli victim’s phone to call his parents and proudly boast about murdering 10 Jews. In the recorded call, he exclaims, “I killed 10 with my own hands! Your son killed Jews!” His parents respond with congratulations and blessings.
- At least one terrorist uploaded the murder of a woman to her Facebook page; which is how her family discovered what had happened to her.
- A terrorist filmed a video of them decapitating a Thai worker with a spade.
This depravity was not limited to Hamas fighters. Ordinary Gazans—men and women alike—actively took part in the bloodshed. Some brought their children to witness and celebrate the slaughter, ensuring that another generation would be poisoned by hatred and brutality.
Testimonies of the Survivors
One survivor, a young woman taken hostage from the Nova music festival, later recounted the taunts and abuse she endured—not only from Hamas fighters but from children as young as ten.
“They spat at me, cursed at me, called me a Jew-pig. They had no hesitation, no fear, just hatred.”
Another survivor, an elderly man from Kfar Aza, described how his neighbours were burned alive while Gazans filmed the carnage, cheering.
“This was not the behaviour of desperate people seeking freedom; it was the product of a society conditioned to dehumanise Jews.”
Rape as a Weapon of War
Captured Hamas operatives have confessed to the widespread, systematic use of rape as a weapon of terror during the attack.
One interrogated terrorist detailed how women were gang-raped and mutilated before being executed.
“The orders were clear—break them, humiliate them, make them suffer,” he admitted.
Multiple witnesses, including forensic experts, have described how Israeli women’s bodies were found with their pelvises shattered—clear evidence of extreme sexual violence.
Some victims were filmed being brutalised by their attackers before being set on fire or shot.
The Role of Ideological Indoctrination
For years, many in the West have clung to the comforting notion that a clear distinction exists between Gaza’s militants and its civilians.
Yet, the testimonies of hostages and survivors challenge this assumption. The hatred ingrained in Gazan society is not accidental—it is cultivated through a state-sponsored system of propaganda. Schools teach martyrdom as a noble pursuit, summer camps train children for jihad, and media outlets glorify the murder of Jews, ensuring that each new generation is indoctrinated with hatred from an early age.
Mia Schem, a French Israeli woman who spent 54 days as a Hamas hostage, later revealed the chilling indoctrination she observed firsthand.
“Even the children—they knew how to hate. It’s all they’ve ever been taught.”
Another released hostage reported that her captors, far from expressing remorse, viewed their crimes as acts of divine justice.
More recently, Gazan women have openly boasted about their involvement in holding Israeli hostages. One woman proudly declared that she kept kidnapped Israelis in her home, feeding them scraps while her husband and sons joined the massacre. Another, when asked if she regretted her involvement, laughed and said, “We would do it again.”
Maya Angelou famously said, “When people show you who they are, believe them.”
The Violation of International Humanitarian Law
The scale and nature of the atrocities committed on October 7 constitute clear violations of international humanitarian law.
The Geneva Conventions prohibit:
- Targeting civilians
- Sexual violence as a weapon of war
- The taking of hostages
- The desecration of the dead
Hamas and the civilians who participated in the massacres committed war crimes of the most egregious nature.
Yet, much of the international community has responded with moral equivocation.
Instead of unequivocally condemning Hamas, many Western politicians and academics have sought to shift blame onto Israel, arguing that these crimes were an inevitable consequence of the “occupation”—a blatant falsehood, given that Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005.
To put it plainly: there is no justification under international law for what happened on October 7. Rape, murder, mutilation, and hostage-taking are not acts of “resistance”—they are war crimes.
And those who excuse or minimise these horrors are complicit in their perpetuation.
The Danger of Western Denial
Despite overwhelming evidence, many in the West continue to downplay the scale of Gaza’s radicalisation.
This refusal to confront reality is not just misguided—it is dangerous.
If Western nations fail to acknowledge the extent of radicalisation in Gaza, they risk importing the very ideologies that led to October 7.
The mass celebrations of Hamas’ attack in cities like London, Sydney, and New York should serve as a dire warning that this problem is not confined to the Middle East.
The Path Forward
To solve a problem, one must first understand its true nature.
The world must recognise that the October 7 atrocities were not driven by political grievances but by a deeply ingrained hatred that has been nurtured for generations—with Western aid funding much of this infrastructure and indoctrination.
The voices of the survivors tell a story—one that demands to be heard, no matter how uncomfortable it may be.
Colonel Michael Scott CSC is the CEO and Founder of The 2023 Foundation, a charity dedicated to combating antisemitism and fostering peaceful coexistence. In September 2024, he visited Israel in his capacity as both aveteran and the Head of The 2023 Foundation.
During his visit, he was granted significant access and met with the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister, and senior officials from the IDF, Mossad, and Shin Bet, gaining critical insights into the events of October 7, the character of the fight in Gaza, and Israel’s approach to warfare.
Through these high-level discussions and firsthand briefings, he developed a deep understanding of theunprecedented brutality of Gaza’s attack, the tactical and strategic challenges faced by the IDF, and the extensive measures Israel takes to uphold the laws of armed conflict. Contrary to the false narratives propagated by many Australian and international media outlets, he witnessed how the IDF operates under a strict ethical and legal framework, applying force lawfully, morally, and proportionally in accordance with the rules of war.
His discussions underscored the extraordinary lengths to which the IDF goes to minimize civilian casualties, including precision strikes, extensive intelligence gathering, advance warnings to non-combatants, and humanitarian corridors—even as Hamas deliberately embeds itself within civilian infrastructure to exploit international perceptions.
Colonel Scott’s visit reinforced his belief that Israel is not only fighting for its survival but also setting a moral standard in warfare, despite facing an enemy that disregards every rule of engagement and weaponizes its own civilians.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the positions of the Australian Defence Force or the Commonwealth Government of Australia.
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