Israeli commission rules Hamas sexual violence systematic during October 7 assault
Following a two-year inquiry involving thousands of visual records and hundreds of interviews, the Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children concludes that abuse was integral to the attack and subsequent captivity.
An independent Israeli investigative commission has released a comprehensive report determining that sexual violence was a central, systematic, and widespread component of Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The document, titled 'Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas against Women and Children', classifies these acts as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocidal acts under international law. Released on Tuesday, the findings mark a significant institutional conclusion regarding the nature of the assault and the subsequent captivity of hostages in Gaza.
The commission's determination is based on an extensive review of over 10,000 photographs and video segments, which amounted to more than 1,800 cumulative hours of analysis. In addition to visual evidence, the body conducted more than 430 formal and informal interviews with survivors, witnesses, returned hostages, experts, and family members. The report notes that many victims did not survive to testify, while others continue to endure profound trauma, yet the evidence gathered was sufficient to support the commission's unequivocal conclusions.
The investigation found that Hamas and its collaborators deployed recurring tactics of sexual abuse and torture across multiple locations and phases of the assault. This included violence during abduction, transfer, and captivity, with the report describing the crimes as marked by extreme cruelty and profound human suffering. The commission stated that the abuse was often inflicted in ways designed to amplify terror and humiliation, persisting for prolonged periods during captivity in Gaza where, in some cases, the abuse continued for months.
The report builds upon prior investigations, including a mission by the UN secretary-general's special representative on sexual violence in conflict in March 2024. That earlier report, based on the first-hand accounts of released hostages, had already confirmed that sexual violence, including rape and sexualised torture, occurred against some women and children during their time in captivity. The current Israeli commission's work seeks to ensure that the suffering endured by the victims will not be denied, erased, or forgotten.
Hamas has repeatedly denied accusations of sexual violence since the attack in 2023 and had not provided a response to the commission's report by late afternoon on Tuesday. The Palestinian Islamist movement maintains its denial despite the commission's findings, which were derived from a wide range of sources including residential communities, festival grounds, roads, shelters, and military installations. The commission's work highlights the gravity of the events described, noting that the systematic nature of the violence formed an integral part of the October 7th attacks and their aftermath.
The release of this document comes amidst a complex backdrop of the ongoing conflict. The October 7 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, and the taking of 251 hostages. Of those taken alive, 41 died during captivity, with the last surviving hostages being released in October 2025 under a fragile ceasefire. Meanwhile, Israel's retaliatory campaign has claimed more than 72,000 lives in Gaza according to the territory's health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
