Hamas: October attacks were a 'necessary step' against Israeli occupation

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

It was "a normal response to confront all Israeli conspiracies against the Palestinian people," the group said in the report.

The 16-page report document was the group's first public report released in English and Arabic on Sunday explaining the background to the attack, when the group broke through Gaza's militarised border.

On October 7, hundreds of Hamas fighters crossed into Israel by land, air and sea.

The attack resulted in the deaths of about 1,140 people, Israeli officials say.

During the attack, the gunmen seized around 250 hostages, according to the latest Israeli figures.

Israeli officials say around 132 captives remain in Gaza, of whom at least 27 are believed to have been killed.

"If there was any case of targeting civilians it happened accidentally 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."

'Halt Israeli aggression'

Israel then started a war, pounding Gaza in the deadliest bombing campaign the area has ever faced.

Israel deployed tens of thousands of troops along the Gaza frontier and on the northern border with Lebanon.

It declared a complete siege of Gaza, cutting off supplies of water, electricity and food, decisions denounced by the United Nations.

Israel's relentless attacks have killed at least 25,105 people in Gaza, mostly women, children and adolescents, according to the health ministry in the territory.

On Sunday, 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 report said, adding that "no party in the world" had the right to decide on their behalf.

Hamas pointed to the historical origins of the conflict, saying "the battle of the Palestinian people against occupation and colonialism did not start on October 7, but started 105 years ago, including 30 years of British colonialism and 75 years of Zionist occupation".

The group said it wanted to "hold the Israeli occupation legally accountable" for the suffering it had inflicted on the Palestinian people.