Israel is weighing extraordinary legal measures that could result in the execution of up to 100 Hamas fighters accused of taking part in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack.
Defense Minister Israel Katz and Justice Minister Yariv Levin have discussed the creation of a dedicated military court to try hundreds of members of Hamas’ elite “Nukhba” unit, part of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, according to Israeli media reports.
Officials familiar with the deliberations said the proposed court would have the authority to impose the death penalty, with military prosecutors expected to seek capital punishment for about 100 defendants facing the gravest charges.
Senior figures from the Israeli army and the Justice Ministry attended the talks, including Itai Ofir, the chief military prosecutor, the Times of Israel reported. Katz said Israel was determined to punish those responsible for the attack “in a way that leaves no ambiguity,” adding that anyone who harms Israeli civilians “will be held fully accountable.”
The discussions come shortly after the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, released updated principles for controversial legislation that would mandate the death penalty for those involved in the October 7 assault.
The bill, which passed an initial Knesset vote in November and is now being debated in the National Security Committee, would allow military courts to impose capital punishment on Palestinians by a simple majority of judges.
Military sources said Israel is holding about 450 Palestinian prisoners classified as Hamas “elite” fighters, far fewer than the thousands initially cited at the start of the war.
According to Israeli officials, prosecutors intend to seek death sentences, most likely by firing squad, after the Israeli Medical Association reportedly declined to take part in executions by lethal injection.
Channel 14 said the detainees are being held at a special military facility under heavy guard, in conditions that have drawn criticism from international human rights organizations.
Officials have spent nearly two years debating how to prosecute the suspects in a way that would ensure execution.
The preferred option, according to the report, is to conduct trials outside the regular judicial system in highly public proceedings, likened to the trial of Nazi official Adolf Eichmann, who was abducted by the Mossad in Argentina in 1960, tried by a special tribunal in Jerusalem, and executed in 1962.
Critics warned that such high-profile trials could become a platform for putting Israel itself on trial over events preceding Oct. 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Israeli authorities said they have compiled extensive evidence, including documents seized in Gaza, interrogations of detainees, and video footage recorded by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters during the attack.
The move comes amid rising tensions in Israeli prisons. Prison Service Commissioner Kobi Yaakobi recently warned of a possible inmate uprising due to harsh conditions.
The Prison Service later said his comments were taken out of context, insisting its policies, which are overseen by Ben-Gvir, are effective and that it is prepared for “any scenario.”
More than 9,500 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including 3,360 in administrative detention without charge or trial. Palestinian prisoner groups say at least 110 detainees have died in custody since the war began, including 50 from Gaza.
