Hamas deliberately used gang rape, sexual torture and mutilation, probe finds

The 302-page report, titled “Silenced No More: Sexual Terror Unveiled,” is based on a two-year investigation.

By World Israel News Staff

A new report by the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children says Hamas and its collaborators used sexual violence as a “systematic” weapon during the October 7, 2023, invasion and against hostages held in Gaza.

The 302-page report, titled Silenced No More: Sexual Terror Unveiled, is based on a two-year investigation that reviewed more than 10,000 photographs and video segments, more than 1,800 hours of visual material, and over 430 testimonies and interviews with survivors, witnesses, released hostages, experts and family members.

The commission said the evidence showed recurring patterns of rape and gang rape, sexual torture, mutilation, forced nudity, postmortem abuse, public parading of women and children, abuse in front of relatives, threats of forced marriage and sexual violence against men and boys.

According to the report, victims were found with signs of sexual torture, including genital mutilation, targeted burning, gunshot wounds to intimate areas, broken pelvises and objects inserted into genitalia. It said some women were raped or sexually tortured before being killed, while others were burned, mutilated or displayed after death.

The commission said sexual violence was documented across multiple locations, including homes, roads, shelters, the Nova festival area, military bases, abductions, transfers and captivity in Gaza.

It concluded that the repetition of the crimes across locations showed they were not isolated acts but part of an organized pattern.

The report also said sexual abuse continued in captivity, including rape, sexual torture, sexual humiliation, threats and abuse at gunpoint. It said both women and men were subjected to sexual violence while held hostage.

“For two years, we have listened to survivors, examined the evidence, and confronted material that is often beyond comprehension,” said Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, founder and chair of the commission. “This report establishes that sexual violence was not incidental — it was systematic, deliberate, and embedded in the attack itself.”

The report also focused on what it called the weaponization of visibility, saying perpetrators filmed, distributed and glorified abuse through social media and victims’ own digital accounts. In some cases, families first learned what had happened to relatives through images and videos sent or spread by the attackers.

The commission said the documented conduct may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocidal acts, torture, sexual slavery, persecution and terrorism-linked sexual violence. It called for specialized investigations, prosecution, survivor-centered support, reparations and international action against perpetrators and those who enabled or amplified the crimes.