RAMLE, ISRAEL – The Association of Rape Crisis Centers of Israel (ARCCI) released a comprehensive report detailing the sexual crimes committed “systematically and intentionally” during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
According to the report, the attack included violent rape, often involving threats with weapons, and that many of those rapes occurred collectively, with collaboration among the perpetrators. The report found that rapists would sometimes engage in sadistic practices, including mutilating genital organs and using weapons as part of the rape.
The attacks occurred wherever Hamas found women: Investigators found violated bodies of female soldiers at the Shura military base, at various kibbutzes where Hamas attacked civilians, at the Nova music festival, and in some cases during “captivity.”
The report also concluded that sexual assaults occurred against children and men, but stressed that “information about this phenomenon is relatively scarce at this stage and focuses on body mutilation.”
“The limited exposure of sexual assaults on men, even in comparison to the limited exposure of sexual assaults in war, is considered characteristic of the phenomenon,” the report said. “Generally, men suffer from compound shame when disclosing sexual assaults, which are perceived as deeply humiliating and an attack on masculinity.”
The report emphasized the difficulty in obtaining evidence and testimony, noting that the process already proves difficult enough in times of peace and therefore faces even greater stumbling blocks in times of war. Orit Sulitzeanu, executive director of the ARRCI, stated that the report’s information and testimonies clarify what occurred, but significant parts of the story are still ahead of us.
Weiss Maudi, who became the first Israeli representative to serve as a senior adviser to the president of the 77th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, said that U.N. bodies, particularly U.N. Women, simply refused to acknowledge that atrocities were committed against Israeli women and young girls.
The report cited a New York Times interview with four Nova festival rescue workers who described finding women’s bodies with spread legs, without underwear and with hands bound behind their backs.
Overall, the report provided a shocking and distressing account of the sexual violence committed during the Hamas attack, shedding light on the horrific and traumatic experiences of the survivors.