An independent Israeli investigation has released a detailed report highlighting the use of sexual violence during the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, according to a 300-page document. The report describes the incidents as “systematic and widespread.”

Harrowing Details Emerge from the Report

The report concludes that sexual violence, including rape, sexual assault, and sexual torture, was used to “maximize pain and suffering.” The findings are based on 430 filmed interviews with survivors and witnesses, as well as more than 10,000 photographs and videos collected from attack sites.

According to the report. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in the attacks. The Civil Commission’s investigation is the most wide-ranging to date, with the United Nations and others having previously released reports on sexual violence during the attacks.

Survivors Describe Extreme Acts of Violence

Survivors and witnesses described harrowing scenes of gang rape at the Nova dance festival, where more than 370 people were killed. One male survivor recounted being treated like a “sex doll” by his assailants. Many victims were shot in the head after being raped or assaulted.

Accounts from the festival site, kibbutzim, and military bases described dead women found without their underwear and corpses with genital mutilation. The report states that “extreme forms” of sexual and gender-based violence continued against hostages in captivity for prolonged periods, affecting both women and men.

Public accounts from former hostages, including Amit Soussana, Arbel Yehud, Romi Gonen, Rom Braslavski, and Guy Gilbol Dalal, have detailed being sexually assaulted. Other victims have shared their experiences confidentially with medical staff, therapists, and investigators.

Patterns of Violence and Legal Implications

The report also includes cases where captors forced relatives to perform sex acts on each other. This, the report says, was part of a “distinct pattern of violence targeting family members and exploiting familial relationships as instruments of terror.”

The Civil Commission found that these crimes may constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocidal acts under international law. The evidence collected is being preserved in a secure archive for potential future prosecutions.

Some initial accounts of violence shared by Israeli officials after the attacks were later found to be false, and some forensic evidence was destroyed by first responders. As a result, the report’s authors took extra precautions to cross-reference and fact-check all evidence included in the report.

To maintain independence, no evidence from Israeli interrogations of detained suspects was used. The Civil Commission’s goal is also to create a historical record of the events, ensuring that the suffering of the victims is not denied, erased, or forgotten.