Image: Jihad Watch
The Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children published a groundbreaking report this week. Titled Kinocide: The Weaponization of Families, the report reveals key findings that highlight the systematic and widespread targeting of families, which aims to terrorize and break the spirit of kin and entire communities.
Prepared by Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, Dr. Michal Gilad, and Dr. Ilya Rudyak from the Civil Commission, the report introduces the term "kinocide," defined as the weaponization of families and the exploitation of familial bonds as a distinct form of violence.
In creating the report, the commission reviewed extensive materials and evidence, including photographs, video footage, audio recordings, satellite images, text messages exchanged during the attack, recorded testimonies, media coverage, investigative reports, and public databases.
The report offers a deeply disturbing account of the atrocities Hamas committed against families and communities on October 7, 2023. These acts included killing and severely injuring family members in front of others, annihilating entire families, abducting families including children, broadcasting abuses on digital and social media directly to victims’ families and the public (including taking control of victims’ social media accounts), intentionally separating family members, and burning and vandalizing family homes.
The Kinocide report also features insights from notable experts like Irwin Cotler, the international chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and former Canadian Minister of Justice. The report has been endorsed by numerous leaders, organizations, and prominent individuals.
Elkayam-Levy, founder of the Civil Commission, stated to JNS, “The weaponization of families in war is a crime without a name, inflicted on victims without a voice. It represents a devastating form of atrocity that demands urgent recognition and action from the international community. By identifying and documenting the systematic and targeted abuse and destruction of families— a crime we have named kinocide— we aim to give this suffering a name and provide victims with the language to articulate their unique pain, bringing this hidden cruelty into the forefront of international law and human rights discourse.”
The October 7 attacks were not the first occurrence of kinocide. Other examples of this crime are detailed in the report, spanning conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Rwanda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, Russia, Ukraine, and earlier by Nazi Germany.
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