Hamas Accused of Deliberate and Systematic Sexual Violence

According to information received, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel claims Hamas fighters “systematically and intentionally” committed sexual offenses during the October 7 strikes.

The umbrella organization’s research finds “identical patterns” of sexual abuse at many sites.

These were said to involve “collectively” or “in front of an audience” violent rapes of women.

During the attacks, Hamas has denied that its fighters sexually abused women.

On October 7, hundreds of members of the Palestinian armed group broke into southern Israel, where they executed over 1,200 victims and kidnapped 253 more.

In response, Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza that has claimed 29,300 lives, according to the health ministry operated by Hamas.

Warning: contains explicit details of sexual assault and rape.

Soon after October 7th, reports of sexual violence committed by Hamas—which Israel, the UK, and other countries have designated as a terrorist organization—started to surface, and they have continued to mount ever since.

Last month, a senior Israeli police officer testified before British MPs that there was “clear evidence” of sexual crimes committed on a scale that qualified them as crimes against humanity. This evidence came from forensic investigations and hundreds of testimonies from witnesses and first responders.

The BBC has also heard and witnessed evidence of female mutilation, sexual assault, and rape.

A substantial amount of previously published material is combined with additional information that the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ACCRI) claims to have obtained through private conversations and direct communication with experts.

According to the report, “brutal acts of violent rape, often involving threats with weapons, specifically directed towards injured women” were part of the October 7 attacks.

“Many rape incidents occurred collectively, with collaboration among the perpetrating terrorists,” according to the investigation. “In some cases, rape was conducted in front of an audience, such as partners, family, or friends, to increase the pain and humiliation for all present.”

“With shouts, several Hamas members dragged victims who had escaped the massacre by their hair. Most of the victims died later, either during or after the sexual attack.”

Multiple victims’ bodies were “found mutilated and bound, with sexual organs brutally attacked, and in some cases, weapons were inserted into them,” according to a number of sources cited in the article.

In summary, the report states that “a clear picture of identical patterns of action repeated in each of the attack zones” includes Israeli military facilities, kibbutzim and villages close to the Gaza border, and the Nova festival.

It states that gang rapes occurred “where women were abused and handled between multiple terrorists who beat, injured, and ultimately killed them,” according to several survivors of the Nova festival.

Those who identified the bodies of female troops slain at bases, as well as first responders and volunteer body collectors who visited border settlements, saw traces of sexual abuse on women and girls.

The study additionally cautions that, contrary to Hamas’ denials, information from freed captives indicates that abuse has persisted while they were in captivity.

According to Paul Adams of the BBC in Jerusalem, Israeli officials are quite hesitant to discuss this topic in public because they don’t want to worry worried family members. However, they do state that one of the reasons Hamas continues to hold female hostages is because they do not want their narratives to be shared.

During a recent briefing, a senior Israeli official was asked about these reports. He declined to provide specifics, saying only, “Believe me.” We are aware.”

The UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, who visited Israel last month and is conducting a similar inquiry, has received the findings of the ACCRI, according to the organization.

In response to Israel’s complaints about the UN and other international organizations’ perceived lack of promptness to the claims, the Executive Director of the ACCRI stated that the organization now had “no room for denial or disregard” following the release of their findings.

Concerned over accusations of brutality by Israeli troops against Palestinian women and girls in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, a number of independent UN experts released a statement on Monday.

They claimed that among the “credible allegations” were the extrajudicial deaths of women and girls in Gaza and the countless sexual assaults that imprisoned people in Gaza and the West Bank had suffered.

The accusations were deemed “despicable and unfounded” by Israel.