Sexual violence exposed on both sides of Israel-Palestine conflict

Two-and-a-half years after the Hamas invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, the full scope of its use of sexual violence as a weapon has been documented.

A landmark report released by Israel’s Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes Against Women and Children, has delivered extensive evidence of widespread, systemic and deliberate use of sexual terror on October 7 and against hostages for months following the attack.

The report came in the same week as the New York Times published an article detailing cases of sexual violence against Palestinians in Israeli detention, and claiming that Israel uses "systemic sexual violence" in its treatment of Palestinians.

The Times article prompted a sharp backlash with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatening to sue the paper for libel. “They defamed the soldiers of Israel and perpetuated a blood libel about rape, trying to create a false symmetry between the genocidal terrorists of Hamas and Israel’s valiant soldiers,” Netanyahu wrote on X.

The release of the two reports in the same week has prompted comparisons and equivalences, but there are marked contrasts between the two.

The report on Hamas use of sexual violence is a legal investigation based on more than 400 interviews. Most victims are civilians, including many young women and girls attacked at the Nova dance festival and hostages subject to abuse in front of family members. The report focuses on proving a systematic pattern of abuse.

The report on Israeli use of sexual violence is a journalistic investigation based on 14 direct interviews and secondary material gathered by human rights groups. The victims are detainees in prisons or military facilities and the perpetrators are described as "Israeli settlers or members of the security forces".