United Nations investigators found “clear and convincing” evidence that Hamas committed sexual violence against hostages held in Gaza and that there were “reasonable grounds” that sexual violence occurred during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack.
A new report from the U.N. envoy focusing on sexual violence concluded there is “reasonable” evidence to believe Hamas carried out sexual violence during the attack in which Hamas killed roughly 1,200 people, the vast majority of whom were civilians, and kidnapped roughly 250 others from southern Israel.
“The mission team found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred in multiple locations during the 7 October attacks, including rape and gang-rape in at least three locations, namely: the Nova music festival site and its surroundings, Road 232, and Kibbutz Re’im,” the report said. “In most of these incidents, victims first subjected to rape were then killed, and at least two incidents relate to the rape of women’s corpses.”
Investigators also discovered “a pattern of victims, mostly women, found fully or partially naked, bound, and shot across multiple locations,” adding that “a pattern may be indicative of some forms of sexual violence, including sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.”
Pramila Patten, who visited Israel and the West Bank from Jan. 29 to Feb. 14 with a nine-member team, reviewed over 5,000 photographic images and approximately 50 hours of footage of the attacks for their investigation.
The investigators were unable to interview any of the survivors of sexual violence and faced difficulties in their investigation due to “limited professionally-gathered forensic material; inaccurate and unreliable forensic interpretations by non-professionals; the extremely limited availability of victims/survivors and witnesses of sexual violence due inter alia to the internal displacement of affected communities.” They conducted 33 meetings with Israeli national institutions and confidential interviews with 34 survivors and witnesses.
The more than 100 people who are still being held hostage in Gaza have likely been the victims of sexual violence as well, the investigators said, and they have “reasonable grounds” to believe this could be ongoing.
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They were also able to determine two previously reported allegations, including one that a pregnant woman was killed and her stomach carved, were unfounded.
The United States among a group of countries trying to mediate a new ceasefire agreement that would allow for the release of the most vulnerable hostages in exchange for a six-week halt in fighting and a surge in humanitarian aid to the strip. U.S. officials said on Monday that Israel has agreed to the deal but Hamas has not.
