Overview
- The UN informed Israel on May 28–29 that it would be added to the secretary-general’s annual list of parties credibly implicated in conflict-related sexual violence, and Israel’s UN ambassador announced a freeze of relations with António Guterres’ office through the end of his term.
- The secretary-general’s report, shared with affected states before public release, says UN investigators verified multiple incidents against detained Palestinians and names specific victims including 14 men, seven women, nine boys and one girl.
- Israeli officials rejected the listing as political, said they supplied detailed responses and evidence to the UN, and accused the organization of not conducting in-person examinations of the cases.
- The 2026 list also newly includes Russian armed and security forces and again lists groups already named such as Hamas; the report records a marked rise in documented cases in 2025 compared with 2024 and names 77 state and non-state parties overall.
- The decision deepens long-running tensions between Israel and the UN following earlier March 2025 UN findings and NGO reporting of forced stripping, sexual assault and humiliation of Palestinian detainees, and could affect diplomatic engagement, accountability efforts and oversight of detention practices going forward.