Israel’s parliament passed a law late on Monday establishing a military tribunal to try hundreds of those who ​took part in the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.

The surprise attack, led ‌by the elite “Nukhba” force from the Hamas group, claimed 1,200 lives.

Israel responded by launching a deadly military assault on the enclave that killed more than 72,000 Palestinian civilians, including women and children, and left much of Gaza in ruins.

Israel has been holding an estimated 200-300 Palestinians — ​the precise number is classified — allegedly captured in Israel during the attack, who have not yet been charged.

The special military court established by the law, ​to be presided over by a three-judge panel in Jerusalem, could also try others captured later in Gaza and suspected of ⁠participating in the attack, or of having held or abused Israeli hostages.

The new law was backed by a wide majority of 93 of the Knesset’s 120 lawmakers, in a ​rare show of Israeli political unity.

No trial date

Lawmakers from both the governing coalition and the opposition authored the bill, meant to ensure all alleged attackers are brought to justice under existing Israeli criminal statutes for what it describes as crimes against the Jewish people, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Proceedings will be public, with major hearings broadcast live.

While defendants will attend ​only key hearings in person and all others by video, surviving victims will be allowed in-person access, according to the new law.

Ya’ara Mordecai, an international law expert ​at Yale Law School, said the new law raised some concerns about due process, given the military court setting, as well as a risk of atrocity proceedings turning into politicised ‌or symbolic “show ⁠trials”.

Knesset member Yulia Malinovsky, one of the bill’s authors, claimed that the legislation ensures a fair and lawful trial.

“They will be sentenced by Israel’s judges, not by the street or by what we all feel,” Malinovsky said before the vote.

Option of capital punishment

Israel’s penal code includes capital punishment for some of the charges which the attackers are likely to face.

If handed ​down, a death sentence would trigger an ​automatic appeal on behalf of the ⁠defendant, according to the new law.

The last person executed in Israel was Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Nazi Holocaust, hanged in 1962 after being kidnapped in Argentina by Israeli agents.

Hamas condemns new law

Hamas Gaza spokesperson Hazem Qassem said the new law serves as a cover for the war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.

The International Criminal Court is probing Israel’s conduct of the Gaza war and ⁠has issued ​arrest warrants for radical Israeli regime leader Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister Yoav Gallant, as well as ​three Hamas leaders who have all since been killed by Israel.

Israel is also fighting a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for the mass killings of Palestinians, including women and children, in Gaza.