Denialism in the Wake of the Oct. 7 Massacre

In the wake of the October 7 Hamas massacre, many expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians displayed anti-Israel sentiment and support for Hamas. This includes demonstrations in the Arab World, anti-Israel rallies in the United States, as well as statements by some faculty and student groups on US campuses.  

Furthermore, a survey conducted by ADL’s Center for Technology and Society found that most Americans have been exposed to hateful online misinformation and disinformation about the current war.  

However, one form of misleading propaganda effort stands out in the current war: Denialism.  

Denialism is manifested in repeated attempts to cast doubt over the events of Oct. 7, its perpetrators, their methods, the nature of its victims, its scope, or Hamas’ goals. Since Oct. 7, many anti-Israel and antisemitic voices around the world, including some in the United States, politicians, journalists and Palestinian leaders, have engaged in denialism.  

Some claim the events of Oct. 7 never took place or that Israel was the one largely responsible for the massacre.  

Others suggest that acts of rape did not at all take place or that Israel fabricated evidence against Hamas. 

Still others frame Israel’s retaliation against Hamas for the events of Oct. 7 as an unprovoked attack on Gaza.  

There are even voices who argue that Hamas was in fact benevolent to its Israeli hostages, who were grateful in return, in an effort to downplay the severity of Hamas holding hundreds of innocent people as hostages. 

This trend of promoting false narratives constitutes a gaslighting campaign through which moral clarity is blurred, Hamas is lauded and Israel is demonized. And while these assertions are most problematically made by anti-Israel leaders, they have been parroted and amplified by activists, and by those sharing or “liking” on social media.   

At a time of rising antisemitism around the world, these claims only fuel animus, and potentially attacks on Jews and Israelis worldwide. 

Below are recent examples of this phenomenon: 

Denial of the Oct. 7 events and accusations whereby Israel fabricated evidence regarding Hamas and its tactics 

• Queens College Muslim Student Association alleged that no independent international body has concluded that “Israel’s claims of atrocities actually took place.” The group also claimed that there was “ZERO evidence that Palestinians deliberately killed women and children. There is a great deal of video evidence that they deliberately *avoided* targeting women and children.”  

Denying Shifa Hospital was used for any Hamas Activity 

• The Gray Zone News Editor Max Blumenthal dismissed evidence of weapons found in Gaza’s main hospital as possibly planted and inconsequential. He said that “Even if we assume the "evidence" wasn't planted, millions of Americans have more guns and ammo in their bedroom closet than this apartheid death squad claims to have found in Shifa.” 

• Political Scientist Norman Finkelstein dismissed the notion of underground tunnels dug underneath Gaza’s main hospital, suggesting they were no more than Israeli propaganda, despite extensive documentation by the Israeli army.  

• British rapper Lowkey accused Israel of planting weapons in the MRI room of Gaza’s main hospital: “CNN admits Israel "might have rearranged weaponry" at Al-Shifa Hospital. We can therefore deduce that the Israeli military planted weapons in the MRI room.” 

Blaming Israel for the Oct. 7 Massacre 

• Former Pink Floyd band member Roger Waters suggested the Oct. 7 massacre might have been a “False Flag Operation” carried out by Israel but made to look like it was carried out by Hamas.  

• In a now-deleted social media post, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry alleged that the Israeli army was responsible for the death of hundreds of partygoers on October 7th near Kibbutz Rei’im.  

• In a piece titled Did Israelis Kill Israelis on October 7, The Tehran Times alleged that “The simple answer is that Hamas did not burn anyone, nor did their fighters leave concrete buildings flattened with babies inside. The Israeli military did.”

Minimizing the scope of the Oct. 7 Massacre and number of civilian casualties 

• The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found “Wide public support for Hamas’ offensive on October the 7th” noting that “the vast majority denies that Hamas has committed atrocities against Israeli civilians.” 

• In an interview with Islamist party Ra’am Knesset Member Iman Khatib-Yasin, she asserted that IDF footage did not show acts of rape or of slaughtering of babies.  

• Jordan’s Queen Rania expressed skepticism over accusations that Israeli children had been butchered by Hamas. 

• The US-based Mint Press News falsely alleged that “According to a recently released report by the Israeli government, the majority of those killed on October 7th were soldiers,” despite the fact that most were civilians. 

Denying accounts of sexual assault by Hamas on Oct. 7 

• The director of a sexual assault center at Canada’s University of Alberta denied that acts of rape have taken place, calling them “unverified accusation that Palestinians were guilty of sexual violence.”  She was later dismissed by the university.  

• The Gray Zone News Editor Max Blumenthal wrote: “Israel is projecting its own sick rape culture onto Palestinians to justify its criminal post-10/7 rampage. Its lurid allegations are shameful confessions.”

• Electronic Intifada founder Ali Abunimah denied large scale acts of murder and rape on October 7th, dismissing it as “colonial atrocity propaganda”.  

• Poet Mohammed El-Kurd described the accusations of rape as unsubstantiated distractions from the “massacres” Israel is carrying out in Gaza. 

Describing Hamas as a benevolent group to which the Israeli hostages are grateful 

• Lebanese Labor Minister Moustafa Bayram praised the “Ethics” of Hamas “in dealing with prisoners: Even the dog was taken care of.”  

• Egypt’s Al-Masry Al-Yawm newspaper posted on November 27 a cartoon showing an Israeli hostage released by Hamas handing a flower to her captors. The cartoon’s title: “The Released Prisoners of the Resistance.”  

• Palestinian daily Al-Quds posted a cartoon on November 30 juxtaposing between a “happy” Israeli hostage, standing with her dog, and a Palestinian detainee with broken hands.  

• Black Lives Matter Chicago similarly elevated this narrative. Commenting on video showing freed hostages supposedly thanking their captors, the group said “The eyes don’t lie .” 

• Al-Jazeera Egypt X post: “With a broad smile... female Israeli detainees bid farewell to the al-Qassam fighters”. 
   

• Electronic Intifada journalist Asa Winstanley wrote: “Israeli embassies are planting new atrocity stories on Western front pages, falsely claiming that Hamas mistreated Israeli captives. Every single time we've been allowed to hear directly from a released Israeli captive they speak of being treated humanely by Hamas.”