The latest report from United Nations-associated human rights experts has placed serious accusations against Israel, regarding its activities in the ongoing conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. These experts assert that Israel has engaged in the “systematic use of sexual, reproductive, and other gender-based violence” as part of the hostilities. This is one of the most detailed reports of this nature to be released since the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on southern Israel that intensified the ongoing war.
In response to these accusations, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the Human Rights Council, the body responsible for commissioning the report, labeling it as an “anti-Israel circus” and claiming it to be a rotten and biased entity. However, Netanyahu’s comments did not directly address the actual findings included in the report.
The report was produced by the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which aims to meticulously document accusations and evidence of crimes to aid in the accountability of perpetrators. This documentation could potentially be utilized by prosecutors at the International Criminal Court or by other legal bodies seeking justice for victims and their families.
Within the report, the commission analyzed several critical issues, including the extensive destruction in Gaza, the employment of heavy weaponry within civilian zones, and attacks targeting hospitals and health facilities by Israel. The combination of these actions has, according to the report, led to “disproportionate violence against women and children.” The commission has detailed various violations heaped upon Palestinian individuals, specifically accusing Israeli security forces of committing rape and acts of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees. Israel has consistently denied any systematic mistreatment of prisoners, asserting that it addresses violations when they occur.
Chris Sidoti, a member of the commission, stated to reporters in Geneva, “Our report finds that Israel has increasingly employed sexual, reproductive, and other forms of gender-based violence against Palestinians as part of a broader effort to undermine their right to self-determination.”
The Israeli mission in Geneva has rejected these accusations, contending that the commission based its report on “second-hand, single, uncorroborated sources.” Since its establishment in 2021, well before the assaults on October 7 in Israel, Israel has outright refused to cooperate with the commission, accusing it and the council of harboring bias.
Despite these grave accusations, the commission stopped short of labeling Israel’s actions in the conflict as genocide, contrary to claims made by certain advocacy groups and other rights experts. Israel, founded post-World War II following the Nazi Holocaust and home to numerous survivors and their descendants, has strongly disputed these accusations.
The Israeli government maintains that it exerted considerable efforts to avoid civilian casualties during the 15-month conflict, which currently remains dormant due to a tentative ceasefire. Israel directs the blame for civilian casualties and widescale destruction at Hamas, accusing the group of using civilian zones as shielded military fronts. For instance, Israeli forces allegedly conducted raids on medical facilities, citing suspicious military activity, accusations that Palestinian health authorities have denied.
The conflict was ignited when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, leading to the deaths of approximately 1,200 primarily civilian individuals and the abduction of 251 hostages. Eyewitness accounts and other evidence gathered by Israeli authorities accuse Hamas-led militants of perpetrating widespread rape and sexual violence. Israeli specialists treating former hostages claim some kidnapped individuals suffered physical and sexual abuse.
Last year, a U.N. envoy reported finding “reasonable grounds” to believe in these allegations. Israel’s subsequent retaliatory actions have reportedly resulted in the deaths of over 48,000 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. However, the ministry has not disclosed how many of those were combatants.
Earlier this week, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the commission organized public hearings involving victims, legal representatives, advocacy organizations, and others, whose testimonies were included in the report. The commission did not examine occurrences of sexual and gender-based violence against Israelis during the October 7 attack or against hostages in Gaza, although it reported on such issues the previous year.
