Sexual violence on October 7: a strategy of terror

The Association of Centers for Victims of Sexualized Violence examined evidence from Black Saturday on October 7 and published a report stating: "The sexualized abuse, rape, and torture of Israeli girls and women, boys and men, was carried out by Hamas terrorists systematically, deliberately, and with unspeakable cruelty. It was a strategy of terror, not isolated incidents."

Acts of sexualized violence were committed in a wide range of communities and military bases, on festival grounds, and in all other arenas of the October 7 mega-terrorist attack, as well as in captivity.

The report prepared by the Association’s experts will also be submitted to the UN: “It is unacceptable that the world continues to keep silent about what happened, and it is unacceptable that the international community continues to ignore the systematic sexualized violence of October 7, 2023."

The report states that many cases of rape were group rapes; the terrorists collaborated, passed the baton to each other, and tortured their victims in turn and simultaneously.

In many cases, they sought to attract "spectators" to enhance the effect of their cruelty: victims were raped and tortured in front of their parents, spouses, and friends, who were powerless to help and protect their loved ones.

In many cases, the victim was killed after the rape, and sometimes during the rape. The report highlights that sexualized violence was not only directed against girls and women of all ages but also against boys and men.

In many cases, wounded women were subjected to sexualized violence; in some cases, they were mutilated in the process of rape. Attacks were carried out at gunpoint and with the use of weapons: the victims were shot, stabbed, burned, and tortured in a variety of the most incredible ways. Many pieces of evidence prove that Hamas terrorists used the most sadistic methods to increase the fear, pain, and humiliation of their victims.

The report details sexualized violence against Hamas abductees in captivity, including testimonies from returned hostages regarding those still held by Hamas terrorists.

The report's authors highlight the high likelihood that captive Israeli men and women are still being subjected to sexualized violence. There is relatively little information about what happened on military bases because investigations are classified, but there is also evidence of gender-based and sexualized violence.

Information began to flow into the Association of Centers for Assistance to Victims of Sexualized Violence already in the first week after “Black Saturday,” at first in varying testimonies, which then turned into a stream, and then into a huge stream, most of which is still hidden from the public eye, the report’s authors indicate.

“And even then we were faced with painful denial and silence from those whom we considered our allies,” the authors of the document admit.

“And now we present a clear picture demonstrating beyond any doubt that the sexualized violence used in those days was an inherent part of the attack. It is vital for history, for the Israeli nation, and for all humanity that the atrocities committed in those days be recognized. And given that most of the victims of sexualized violence were killed, we have a moral obligation to speak out about the suffering they endured on their behalf."

The report contains descriptions of numerous cases of sexualized violence, testimonies of witnesses and some victims, testimonies of rescue workers and doctors, information authorized for publication in the media, and selected testimonies of people who turned to help centers for victims of sexualized violence.

The report is preceded by a warning about the emotional complexity of the materials included in the document for review.

After collecting evidence, the drafters of the report cataloged and systematized the information received, compiled a map of the crimes committed, and an analytical model of the terrorists’ actions.

Quantitative information is not provided in the report due to the nature of the events and the large number of victims who did not survive the attack, the full scale of the Black Saturday tragedy is still unknown and may never be known.