Hamas and its allies committed "systematic, widespread" sexual violence during their October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and against hostages they took back to Gaza, according to a report released Tuesday by an independent Israeli investigative commission.
The 300?page report by the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children builds on prior investigations, including by the UN, to determine the full scale of sexual violence perpetrated during the assault and against the hostages during the ensuing war in the Gaza Strip.
Following a two-year investigation, the Civil Commission concluded that "sexual and gender-based violence was systematic, widespread, and integral to the October 7th attacks and their aftermath," the body, created in November 2023 by an Israeli legal expert, wrote in its report.
"Across multiple locations and phases of the assault, including during abduction, transfer, and captivity, Hamas and its collaborators deployed recurring tactics of sexual abuse and torture against victims," the report said.
"These crimes were marked by extreme cruelty and profound human suffering, often inflicted in ways designed to amplify terror and humiliation."
Investigators said "the report draws on extensive factual documentation, including original filmed survivor and witness testimonies, interviews, photographs, videos, official records, and other primary materials from the attack sites".
"I saw them raping her," said Raz Cohen, a survivor of the Nova music festival, in one of the testimonies quoted in the report.
"While they were raping her, we heard her screaming. Then they murdered her. And then they raped her again, even after she was no longer moving," he said.
The report came as The New York Times published an investigation into what it said was "widespread" sexual violence by Israeli prison guards, soldiers, settlers and interrogators against Palestinian detainees -- which was strongly rejected by Israel.
- 'Profound trauma' -
The panel investigating crimes committed during Hamas's October 7 assault said it systematically reviewed more than 10,000 photographs and video segments of the attack.
Overall, the commission said it conducted more than 430 formal and informal interviews, testimonial sessions, and meetings with survivors, witnesses, returned hostages, experts and family members.
"Sexualised torture persisted during captivity in Gaza for prolonged periods. In some cases, the sexual and gender-based abuse of hostages continued for months," it said.
"Our conclusion is unequivocal: sexual and gender-based violence formed a central component of the October 7th attack and of hostages' captivity," the commission said in the report.
"The Civil Commission's findings conclude that these crimes constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocidal acts under international law."
Hamas has repeatedly denied the accusations since 2023.
- 'Clear and convincing' -
Hamas's surprise attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, the majority of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
Militants also took 251 people hostage, including 44 who were already dead.
Israel's retaliatory military campaign has devastated the Gaza Strip and killed more than 72,000 people, according to the territory's health ministry, which operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.
Of the 207 hostages taken alive, 41 died or were killed during captivity.
Israel has long accused the United Nations and major international human rights organisations of turning a blind eye to the sexual violence committed on October 7, and of being slow to condemn it.
In March 2024, the UN secretary-general's special representative on sexual violence in conflict published a report that found "clear and convincing information" about sexual violence and torture against hostages.
