Israel's parliament has approved a controversial new law that authorizes the death penalty and public trials for individuals implicated in the massive Hamas-led attacks and hostage abductions on October 7, 2023.

The bill passed unanimously with 93 votes in favor and zero against in the Knesset, marking a rare bipartisan effort as it was co-sponsored by both ruling coalition and opposition figures.

The other 27 members of parliament either did not attend or chose to abstain from the vote.

"May everyone see how the victims and their families look into the whites of the eyes of those murderers, rapists and kidnappers," stated Yulia Malinovsky, a co-sponsor of the legislation, during a press briefing before the Knesset vote.

"May everyone see how the State of Israel is a sovereign state which knows how to hold those who harmed it to account," the opposition lawmaker added.

"We have reached the finish line, which is actually the starting line: the beginning of historic trials, which the whole world will see."

Israeli human rights organizations have condemned the law, rejecting capital punishment in principle and raising alarms over potential "show trials" reliant on confessions obtained through alleged torture.

October 7, 2023, stands as Israel's deadliest day ever, when Hamas militants slaughtered more than 1,200 people - mainly civilians - in southern communities, while abducting 251 others who were held in Gaza, among them men, women, children, and foreigners.

Those horrors ignited the most devastating conflict yet in Gaza, where the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry reports 72,740 deaths so far - predominantly children, women, and seniors.

Earlier this year, the Knesset enacted the Death Penalty for Terrorists Law targeting Palestinians convicted of terror acts, but it lacks retroactive force, necessitating this distinct statute for the October 7 suspects.

Supporters of the measure describe it as enabling a landmark prosecution akin to the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, the Holocaust planner executed in 1962 - the sole instance of a death sentence from an Israeli civilian court.

The legislation establishes a unique judicial process for those directly tied to the attacks, such as captured members of Hamas's elite Nukhba forces from the al-Qassam Brigades.

Suspects face accusations from terrorism and murder to sexual assaults and genocide, all punishable by death, in a specialized military tribunal in Jerusalem operating under modified rules distinct from standard criminal cases.

Pivotal trial phases - including openings, verdicts, and sentencings - will be recorded and streamed on a dedicated online platform.

Survivors of the October 7 violence and families of the slain participated in Knesset committee sessions reviewing the bill.

Carmit Palty Katzir attended to protect the interests of the most impacted. Her brother Elad was seized from their family home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, killed while captive; her father Rami died in the assault, and her mother Hana was abducted but later freed.

"It's important to understand that in so many ways this event hasn't ended," Palty Katzir shared on Israeli army radio. "So many of the families have been left with completely open-ended questions about the murders. A bulk of information simply doesn't get to us."

She expressed hope for clarity from suspect trials but insisted that victims receive sensitive information prior to any public disclosure.

Israel's Prison Service detains 1,283 individuals labeled unlawful combatants without charges, mostly Gazans. A handful more are held by the military, and reports indicate 300 to 400 Gazans face criminal proceedings linked to October 7.

Backers argue the military court will adapt evidentiary and procedural norms to manage the unprecedented scale, without undermining trial integrity.

Critics among rights advocates counter that current safeguards exist to uphold defendant protections, predicting some sessions may proceed without physical defendant presence.

"Government coalition members have made it clear that they expect mass executions to result from this court that they've established," noted Sari Bashi, head of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel.

"We know that Palestinians being held on suspicion of participating in the crimes of October 7 have been tortured, systematically and in a widespread way. My concern is that they are going to be convicted and even executed based on confessions extracted under torture."

"The people who are responsible for attacking civilians in southern Israel should be held accountable, but not like this," Bashi continued. "They deserve due process, and the death penalty should never be on the table."

The Israeli government refutes claims of systematic torture, maintaining adherence to global legal norms.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin highlighted at a Sunday briefing the massive preparatory effort under his oversight to build this judicial mechanism.

He described how investigators analyzed thousands of video hours, sifted vast evidence, and questioned captured attackers, with footage destined for the national archives.

Numerous Gazans continue searching for news of kin who entered Israel during the 2023 incursion or were arrested afterward.

On Monday, dozens rallied against the law outside the International Committee of the Red Cross office in Gaza City.

"Look, this law is cruel, it's a law that tries to take away the hope that you're living on," said Hisham al-Wahad, brother of missing reporter Haitham al-Wahad, to the BBC. "We as families of prisoners and families of the missing are calling on states and public opinion - international, Arab and Islamic - to take action to stop such a law and such a matter."

The family reports Haitham, a cameraman, was last spotted with colleagues filming near Israel's Erez crossing at Beit Hanoun after Hamas fighters overran it on October 7.

Though Israel has long avoided executions in practice, recent surveys reveal rising backing for the death penalty among Jewish citizens, especially for convicted Nukhba terrorists.

Polls likewise indicate strong public desire for an independent probe into the October 7 failures, yet the government pledges only an internal review.

Bereaved Israeli families stress that this tribunal addresses merely one facet of accountability.

"It cannot be that we're focused on the Nukhba terrorists and not how this horrible tragedy happened and who will take responsibility, who will take the legal stand on this or take into consideration relatives' healing," Carmit Palty Katzir remarked.