The true scale of Hamas’ depravity has been laid bare in a new report, which documents the extent of the group’s sexual crimes on October 7. Produced by the Civil Commission, the report concludes that sexual and gender-based violence was systematic, widespread, and integral to the attacks and their aftermath.
The report documents testimonies from released hostages and other sources demonstrating how sexual assaults, sexual humiliation, and 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 found evidence of a distinct pattern of violence targeting family members and exploiting familial relationships as instruments of terror.
In several documented incidents, victims were sexually assaulted or humiliated in the presence of relatives, and in one of the documented cases, family members were coerced into participating in acts of abuse against one another.
Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, the commission’s chair, said: “On October 7, 2023, we found ourselves caught in a harrowing glimpse of hell.
“It was a fear so existential that I often say that October 7 was the day we lost our basic sense of security – the ability to feel safe and protected, in our homes, in our communities.
“We were thrust into a horror that defies comprehension; it was real, visceral, celebrated – broadcasted for the world to see.”
Hamas has repeatedly denied that sexual and gender-based violence took place during the attacks or against those held captive. An investigation by the UN’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict concluded there were “reasonable grounds to believe” sexual violence, including gang rape, had been committed.
Accounts of sexual violence emerged soon after the Hamas-led attacks, prompting an Israeli legal expert to set up the commission.
Some survivors have spoken publicly about the use of sexual violence as a weapon on the day of the massacre and subsequently whilst being held hostage.
The commission poured over distressing testimony documenting the horrific crimes against women and children, and the video footage was often live-streamed on social media by Hamas terrorists.
Dr Elkayam-Levy added: “We began to identify the deliberate and systematic targeting of families: parents murdered or executed in front of their children, children abducted or killed in the presence of their siblings and parents, family members violently torn from one another, entire homes destroyed and burned with families trapped inside.
“We found ourselves almost physically unable to witness the crimes.
“This was no random act of violence; it was a calculated, strategic assault on the very concept of family.
“The attacks were designed not just to kill, but to shatter families, to exploit and destroy the foundational emotional bonds that give us strength, and to do so in the most horrifying ways imaginable to magnify suffering.”
Ex UK Foreign Office Minister Zac Goldsmith wrote: “What kind of ‘freedom fighters’ go into battle with a set of handy Arabic-to-Hebrew phrases, including ‘take off your pants’, ‘lie down’, and ‘spread your legs’?
“What self-respecting human being presses nails, scalpels, a hammer, an axe, screwdrivers and other household tools into a woman’s genitals?”
He added: “The answer is: Hamas terrorists. This is the stark reality of what they did to men, women and children on October 7, 2023. And the world must never forget.”
The report comes as Israel passed a new law to impose the death penalty and conduct public trials for those involved in the unprecedented Hamas-led attacks and mass hostage-taking.
