Overview
- The Israeli Civil Commission released a two-year report concluding Hamas used sexual violence as a deliberate, systematic tactic during the Oct. 7 assault on Israel.
- Investigators documented 13 recurring patterns of abuse that included rape, gang rape, burning and mutilation, shootings to the head, face and genitals, killings tied to assaults, and postmortem desecration.
- Researchers conducted more than 430 interviews and reviewed thousands of images and videos, and they found attackers recorded and spread footage of abuse through victims’ accounts and social media.
- The report details sexual torture, humiliation and coercion against men and women held hostage in Gaza, often inflicted in front of others to intensify fear and control.
- The commission says the acts constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocidal acts under international law, and it urges Israeli and international authorities to open investigations and bring cases.