Hamas used gang rapes, genital mutilation in Israel attack

Hamas terrorists used gang rapes and genital mutilation on Israeli civilians during their 7 October attack on Israel, a report released by an Israeli group said on Wednesday.

The report of the Association of Rape Crisis Centres in Israel, an umbrella body that fights sexual violence, said wartime sexual violence occurred in each of the attacked areas — the Nova music festival, private homes in kibbutzim around the Gaza Strip, military bases and on hostages abducted during the attack, it said in a report.

They were “carried out systematically and deliberately towards Israeli civilians,” said the report, which was based on witness testimonies, public and classified information, and interviews.

It did not have testimonies of victims themselves.

“Many of the rapes were carried out as a group, with the participation of violent terrorists,” the report said.

The report, which contained graphic descriptions, said mutilation also occurred on men.

But the scarcity of survivor testimonies and the lack of forensic evidence make it difficult to assess the scale of sexual violence. The Palestinian movement Hamas has categorically denied these allegations.

Testimonies of hostages freed from captivity also indicated that captives faced a similar ordeal.

Chen and Agam Goldstein, who were released after 51 days, noted that they encountered “at least three female hostages who suffered sexual assault during captivity,” the report said. WITH AFP

Testimonies and information provided indicated that such assaults occurred in front of audiences, including family members, community members or other relatives, it added.