Hamas says 7 October attacks 'necessary step'

Palestinian group Hamas said on Sunday that its 7 October attacks in southern Israel were a "necessary step" against Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

But the group admitted in a 16-page report about the attack that "some faults happened… due to the rapid collapse of the Israeli security and military system, and the chaos caused along the border areas with Gaza".

The document was the group's first public report released in English and Arabic explaining the background to the attack, when the militants broke through Gaza's militarised border. The attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people and the taking of around 250 hostages.

The militant group said the attack was "a necessary step and a normal response to confront all Israeli conspiracies against the Palestinian people".

"If there was any case of targeting civilians it happened accidently and in the course of the confrontation with the occupation forces," Hamas said in the report.

"Many Israelis were killed by the Israeli army and police due to their confusion."

In the statement, Hamas urged “the immediate halt of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the crimes and ethnic cleansing committed against the entire Gaza population”.

“We stress that the Palestinian people have the capacity to decide their future and to arrange their internal affairs,” the statement said, adding that “no party in the world” had the right to decide on their behalf.