A UN report on Hamas’ sexual violence on October 7 presents mainly circumstantial evidence proving Hamas terrorists committed sexual crimes during their attack against Israel including cases of rape, gang rape, sexual assault, genital mutilation, nudity and binding of bodies, among others. Read it here.
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Pramila Patten, the UN’s Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, who visited Israel with her team last month to collect evidence on the atrocities, published the full report on Monday.
Patten was mandated to gather evidence and information about sexual crimes committed by Hamas terrorists in southern Israeli communities on October 7. She led a delegation of 10 experts in the fields of law and medicine and also visited the Palestinian Authority.
The report issued by Patten and her team confirms evidence of sexual violence taking place during the terror group’s October 7 attack. Additionally, the report confirms that female hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were subjected to sexual violence, and there are concerns these crimes are ongoing.
However, the report notes that, due to time constraints and the team's professional capacity, it is currently unable to attribute all of the incidents in the attack to Hamas, given the possibility that some were carried out by Islamic Jihad terrorists or Gazan civilians who infiltrated Israel following the initial attack.
The report’s findings indicate sexual assaults were committed during the attack itself, including circumstantial evidence of rape, sexual assault, shooting at naked and bound women at the Nova Music Festival and the rape of two women on Route 232, as well as genital mutilation on bodies in the area.
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Pramila Patten and her team in her visit to Kibbutz Nahal Oz
(Photo: Foreign Ministry)
The findings raised further allegations of gang rape on Route 232 that Patten's team couldn’t verify during their visit to the country but will investigate further. Another rape occurred in Kibbutz Re'im.
Due to time constraints, the team failed to corroborate testimonies about rape in Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Additionally, the report highlights that Patten's team struggled to verify numerous cases of murder in Kibbutz Be’eri due to the large number of testimonies.
Meanwhile, the report addresses Patten's visit to Ramallah, clarifying that the purpose of the visit wasn’t to investigate or verify cases of sexual assault. However, the report's authors noted that trusted Palestinian officials spoke of problematic patterns in the conduct of Israeli security forces, especially regarding searches at checkpoints, arrests and raids.
Regarding the report's recommendations, the team called on Hamas to release Israeli hostages immediately and unconditionally, urged parties to bring suspects to trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC), recommended that Israel cooperate with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), advocated for safeguarding the privacy of witnesses and survivors, called for a humanitarian cease-fire and recommended making sure women's voices are heard.
Patten's team, who acknowledged the Israeli authorities’ cooperation, conducted 36 in-depth interviews and reviewed 5,000 photos and 50 hours of video footage. Israel will receive Patten’s full report later in March and state representatives will have a week to respond.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's report, to be published in early April, will include parts of Patten's report of the visit to Israel as well as outputs from the UN committee on sexual violence.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan criticized the silence of UN women's organizations during a special council at the UN General Assembly on the issue of the U.S. Veto imposed by the Security Council on a proposal by Algeria for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and presented testimonies of Israeli women detailing Hamas’ sexual violence on October 7.
"The silence in the face of Hamas' sexual violence turns International Women's Day into a sick joke," Erdan said. "As we speak, Israeli women are being raped and abused by Hamas. Where is the UN's voice?"
Erdan added, "In the past five months, there hasn't been even one single discussion here dedicated to the wellbeing of the hostages. Not one debate focused on the sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas. Not a single UN panel on rape against Israeli women. You should be ashamed of your silence.”
"In her report, Patten will outline that during Hamas' attack, rape, gang rape, necrophilia, sexual violence and forced defilement were carried out. The report will also highlight that Hamas terrorists sexually abused female hostages and that such acts are likely still ongoing. Will this wake you up? Will it change your priorities?" Erdan said.