Israel-Gaza war: activists decry silence over evidence of sexual violence in Hamas attacks

Israeli police say they have gathered ‘more than 1,500 shocking and difficult testimonies’ of sexual violence committed by Hamas militants during the October 7 attacks

Activists accuse UN entities of ignoring the evidence for two months, and say their reticence is ‘a shameful abuse of their mandate and their mission’

Reading Time:4 minutes

Demonstrators hold signs against what they describe as international silence over sexual violence perpetrated against Israeli women during the attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, at a protest in Jerusalem on November 27. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:00pm, 2 Dec 2023

Israeli women and legal activists have accused international rights groups of maintaining a conspiracy of silence over alleged rapes and other sexual crimes committed by Hamas militants during the October 7 attacks.

Even before forensic examinations began, an abundance of images pointed to the gruesome nature of the attacks, with pictures shared online and live footage streamed by the militants as they killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to an Israeli count.

In addition to investigating the bloodshed, Israeli police say they have been exploring evidence of sexual violence, ranging from alleged gang rape to postmortem mutilation.

Their inquiry has, so far, gathered “more than 1,500 shocking and difficult testimonies”, a senior police officer told Israel’s parliament this week, from witnesses, doctors and pathologists.

Signs against what protesters describe as international silence over sexual violence perpetrated against Israeli women during the attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, are displayed on a bench at a protest in Jerusalem on November 27. Photo: Reuters

Shortly after the attacks, Israeli rights experts sent letters detailing the evidence to key international bodies such as UN Women and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

But until this week, when both the UN secretary-general and UN Women issued statements on the allegations, campaigners say the responses were minimal, leaving them deeply frustrated and accusing the global human rights community of betrayal.