A comprehensive investigation reveals extensive patterns of sexual terror against victims and hostages
Category: Politics
A two-year independent investigation has unveiled extensive evidence of sexual and gender-based violence committed during the October 7, 2023 massacre and against hostages in Hamas captivity. The report, published by the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, led by Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, outlines a systematic pattern of sexual atrocities and proposes a legal framework for prosecution.
As detailed in the report titled "Sexual Terror Unveiled: The Untold Atrocities of October 7 and Against Hostages in Captivity," the investigation compiled the most comprehensive evidentiary record to date concerning these crimes. The report highlights that sexual violence was not an incidental aspect of the attack but rather an integral part of it, systematically employed as a weapon of war.
The evidentiary model established in the report is based on cumulative proof, drawing from over 10,000 photographs and video segments, which amount to more than 1,800 hours of visual analysis, alongside more than 430 testimonies, interviews, and meetings with survivors, witnesses, released hostages, experts, and family members. Victims represented in the data analysis included individuals from 52 nationalities.
The report emphasizes the need to transition from documenting these crimes to prosecuting those responsible. Dr. Elkayam-Levy stated, "For two years, we have listened to survivors, painstakingly examined the evidence, and confronted material that is often beyond comprehension. This report is the result of that work. It establishes that sexual violence was not incidental; it was systematic, deliberate, and embedded in the attack itself." The report argues that the fragmented nature of evidence does not preclude prosecution, but requires a different approach to preserve available evidence and identify repeated conduct across various locations and phases of the attack.
The October 7 assault resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 individuals and saw over 250 taken hostage. The report identifies 13 recurring patterns of sexual and gender-based violence across different attack sites, including rape, gang rape, sexual torture, mutilation, and postmortem abuse. These acts were often committed in the presence of family members, intended to inflict psychological terror on the direct victims and on those forced to witness the violence.
One particularly disturbing finding is the concept of "kinocidal sexual violence," where assaults were directed at individual victims and at their families. The report documents instances where victims were sexually abused in front of relatives, and in some cases, family members were coerced into committing acts of sexual abuse against one another.
Dr. Elkayam-Levy noted that the investigation utilized open-source material, geolocation-supported datasets, site visits, expert consultations, and trauma-informed documentation practices. This complex approach allowed the Commission to preserve early and perishable material, including original footage and testimonies that might have been lost over time.
The proposed legal framework aims to address the challenges of prosecuting these crimes by calling for specialized investigators and prosecutors trained in conflict-related sexual violence. It also emphasizes the importance of trauma-informed procedures for survivors and witnesses. Such a framework would allow Israel to leverage its proximity to victims, witnesses, and evidence, drawing on legal experiences from international prosecutions of sexual violence in historical contexts like Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
The report also recommends treating victims as active participants in the legal process, ensuring they have access to information, representation, protection, and the ability to be heard at key stages, including sentencing and reparations. Beyond criminal trials, the authors advocate for targeted sanctions, asset freezes, travel bans, and measures against denial or minimization of these crimes.
Hamas has categorically denied the allegations of sexual violence against its members during the October 7 attack. Yet the volume of corroborated evidence presented in the report necessitates serious international legal scrutiny. The authors argue that the focus should now shift from mere acknowledgment of the crimes to establishing a legal foundation for accountability.
As the international community grapples with the implications of these findings, the report serves as a bridge between documentation and prosecution, aiming to preserve evidence and uphold the rights of victims. The legal significance of the archive lies not only in individual pieces of evidence but in how they weave together to reveal a broader system of violence.
In the words of former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, who provided a foreword for the report, "The construction of a reliable evidentiary archive becomes indispensable. Its function is not judicial in the formal sense, but it preserves the factual foundation on which legal, historical, and moral judgment depends." The report, which does not replace a criminal trial or make final judicial findings, presents a clear call to action for the international legal community to recognize and prosecute these acts as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The report was released on May 12, 2026, and its findings highlight the urgent need for global attention and action in addressing conflict-related sexual violence.