Gazan women, teens took part in Hamas's October 7 attacks on Israel - report

"Those currently detained are teenagers aged 17 or 16. Some women assisted in the kidnappings, guarded the hostages, and helped the terrorists."

 Palestinians react as an Israeli military vehicle burns after it was hit by Palestinian gunmen who infiltrated areas of southern Israel, at the Israeli side of Israel-Gaza border, October 7, 2023.  (photo credit: REUTERS/Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa)
Palestinians react as an Israeli military vehicle burns after it was hit by Palestinian gunmen who infiltrated areas of southern Israel, at the Israeli side of Israel-Gaza border, October 7, 2023.
(photo credit: REUTERS/Mohammed Fayq Abu Mostafa)

As investigations continue to find evidence of who participated in Hamas's October 7 attack, it was found that women and teens were involved in both the attacks and kidnappings of hostages, according to a Makor Rishon report.

Since the devastating attacks on October 7, there has been much investigation into who was involved. One of the leaders of the investigation in the Israel Police's Unit of International Crime Investigations, Alex Namirovski, related his efforts to collect concrete evidence, hoping that the justice system would be able to use it to indict those who are suspects. 

According to Namirovski, those currently detained are "teenagers, aged 17 or 16. Some adults are also close to the age of sixty."

"There were also women who assisted in the kidnappings, guarded the hostages, and helped the terrorists. Women participated on October 7, although there were not many," Namirovski continued. 

How to indict terrorists who were involved on October 7 

Israel has been faced with the issue of how to prosecute the terrorists who were involved in the attack. For example, there is currently a lack of evidence when it comes to proving sexual assault.

Palestinians take control of an Israeli tank after crossing the border fence with Israel from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 7, 2023.  (credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90)
Palestinians take control of an Israeli tank after crossing the border fence with Israel from Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 7, 2023. (credit: ABED RAHIM KHATIB/FLASH90)

"On the issue of sexual assault, we do not have concrete evidence because most of the victims were probably murdered," Namrvoski explained. 

Due to this lack of concrete evidence, Namirovski also mentioned the difficulty of differentiating between which terrorists were involved, as there were many on the scene, and it is difficult to know which terrorist did the act of shooting. 

"There is constant discussion in the Knesset and government [about how to prosecute]. It is possible that the indictments will be filed jointly, and terrorists will be prosecuted in a group indictment. There may also be legislative amendments that will allow as many terrorists as possible to be put on trial."