A report by an Israeli organization, published on Wednesday, indicates that the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7 led to widespread and premeditated acts of sexual violence. Israeli officials have pointed fingers at Hamas for the rise in sexual assaults, including rape and genital mutilation, a claim which has been consistently denied by the Palestinian movement.
However, the absence of firsthand survivor narrations and lack of forensic expertise has made it difficult to comprehensively understand the extent of these abuses. According to the report from the Association of Rape Support Centers in Israel (ARCCI), a body that oversees centers combatting sexual violence across the country, these abuses formed a significant part of the October 7 attacks.
The report draws attention to the “similarities” in the various attacks – at the Nova music festival, kibbutzim, military bases and on the people taken hostage. It notes that sexual violence was carried out there “systematically and deliberately against Israeli civilians”. The report has based its findings on testimonies and interviews with witnesses, although not victims, some of which were reported in the media.
“Rapes, many of them in meetings, at gunpoint”
The report mentions “rapes, many of them in meetings, at gunpoint”. It refers to a survivor of the Nova festival attack who describes the scene as “an apocalypse of corpses, of naked girls, sometimes on the upper body, sometimes on the bottom”. In Kibbutz Beeri, where 90 residents were killed, rescuers reportedly found “bodies showing signs of sexual attacks”.
Sexual assaults were also reported in the attacked military bases, the report added. It quoted a soldier stationed at one of the bases, who claimed to have seen at least ten bodies of female soldiers that showed clear signs of sexual violence.
Some of the hostages who were later released have also spoken about sexual assault. Like Chen and Agam Goldstein, who were released after 51 days of detention, said they encountered “at least three female hostages who were sexually assaulted during their captivity”. The report also includes graphic descriptions of victim mutilations, including male victims.
Complex investigations
These allegations are currently the subject of intricate investigations in Israel. The investigations are complicated by the absence of post-mortem examinations in the chaos of the days following the attack and the Jewish religious tradition that recommends a swift burial of the deceased.
The UN special representative in charge of sexual violence in times of conflict, Pramila Patten, visited Israel at the end of January. She urged women who were victims of the alleged sexual crimes on October 7 to “break the silence” and share their experiences.
In early December, Unicef condemned the “sexual violence” committed against Israeli women on October 7. Israel considered this condemnation late and insufficient as it did not name the perpetrators, the armed men of Hamas, according to them.
