A comprehensive investigation released Tuesday reveals that Hamas and allied Palestinian militant groups employed systematic sexual violence during their October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, according to a detailed civil commission report.
The extensive 300-page document, called “Silenced No More,” was compiled by the Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children following two years of intensive research, witness interviews, forensic analysis, and examination of visual evidence.
Investigators reviewed an enormous collection of evidence including over 10,000 photographs and video clips, more than 1,800 hours of recorded material, and conducted over 430 interviews with survivors, witnesses, former hostages, experts, and family members of victims.
The commission documented 13 distinct patterns of sexual and gender-based violence that occurred both during the initial assault and while victims were held captive in Gaza. These included rape, gang rape, forced nudity, sexual torture, mutilation, posthumous sexual abuse, and attacks committed in front of family members. Investigators also found instances where family members were forced to commit sexual acts against each other, which the commission termed “kinocidal sexual violence.”
“The scale, coordination, and repetition of the conduct demonstrate a widespread and systematic attack against civilians in which sexual violence was deliberately used as a method of terror,” the investigation concluded.
The report details how attackers filmed, broadcast live, and shared images of abuse and killings on social media platforms and through victims’ personal accounts, weaponizing the documentation as psychological warfare against families and Israeli society.
Commission investigators determined that the documented actions constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocidal acts under international law. They called on Israeli officials and international governments to recognize sexual and gender-based violence as a separate category requiring specific criminal accountability in future legal proceedings.
These conclusions support previous findings, including a March 2024 United Nations report by Special Representative Pramila Patten, whose investigation found “reasonable grounds” to believe conflict-related sexual violence took place during the October 7 attacks and “clear and convincing information” that Gaza hostages experienced sexual violence.
During the October 7 assault, Hamas-led militants breached the Gaza border into Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 deaths and the kidnapping of 251 hostages. Israeli officials report that hundreds of attackers were captured inside Israel following the assault. The Israeli Knesset approved legislation Monday to create a specialized court system for prosecuting October 7 defendants, including those facing charges related to sexual crimes.
