October 7th attacks/ Israel passes law requiring death penalty and public trial for those involved

2026-05-12 08:26:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

October 7th attacks/ Israel passes law requiring death penalty and public trial

Israel has passed a new law to impose the death penalty and hold public trials for those involved in the Hamas-led attacks and mass hostage-taking in Israel in October 2023.

The legislation was approved by 93 votes in favor and 0 against in the Israeli parliament (Knesset) by both government and opposition politicians. The remaining 27 lawmakers were not present at the session or abstained.

Israeli human rights groups have spoken out against the new law, opposing the principle of the death penalty but also warning against "show trials" based on confessions allegedly extracted under torture.

October 7, 2023 was the deadliest day in Israeli history. Hamas-led militants killed over 1,200 people in southern Israel, mostly civilians. Another 251 were kidnapped and held captive in the Gaza Strip, including men, women, children and foreign nationals.

The events also sparked the deadliest war in Gaza ever, with 72,740 people killed to date, mostly children, women and the elderly, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.

Israeli politicians who support the law say it will allow for a trial of historic significance, comparing it to that of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Jewish Holocaust, who was hanged in 1962, becoming the only person previously sentenced to death by an Israeli civilian court.

The new law creates a special legal framework for the prosecution of those accused of direct involvement in the attacks, including members of the Nukhba special forces unit of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, who were captured in Israel.

They are expected to face charges ranging from terrorism and murder to sexual violence and even genocide, which carry the death penalty. They will be tried before a special military court in Jerusalem with different rules from regular criminal trials.

Highlights of the hearings, including the opening, verdict and sentencing, will be filmed and streamed on a dedicated website. Victims of the October 7 attack and the families of their loved ones were part of the parliamentary committee's discussions on the new legislation.

Several dozen people protested against the new death penalty law outside the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City on Monday. /CNA