Evidence Hamas was `systematic' in sex abuse

Rapes, assaults used to terrorize Oct. 7 victims

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL • The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel on Wednesday said it has found evidence of “systematic and intentional” rape and sexual abuse during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that ignited the war in Gaza.

The report said the attacks were more widespread than earlier thought, taking place across southern Israel.

“In some cases, rape was conducted in front of an audience, such as partners, family, or friends, to increase the pain and humiliation for all present,” it said.

Orit Sulitzeanu, executive director of the association, said that in many cases, the bodies of male and female victims, including their genitals, were mutilated.

The report, published Wednesday, did not specify the number of cases it had documented or identify any victims. Sulitzeanu said victim identification was difficult because many were killed after being assaulted, and first responders were so overwhelmed by the scale of death and destruction that they did not document signs of sexual abuse.

The report's authors said they based their research on confidential and public interviews with officials and first responders, as well as media reports. Sulitzeanu said they also relied on “confidential sources” but declined to say whether they had spoken to victims.

An Associated Press investigation also found that sexual assault was part of an atrocity-filled rampage by Hamas and others who killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took around 250 hostages on Oct. 7. Hamas has rejected allegations that its gunmen committed sexual assault.

Meanwhile in Gaza, Israeli strikes killed at least 67 Palestinians overnight and into Wednesday, including in areas where civilians have been told to seek refuge.

The Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah says it received 44 bodies after multiple strikes in central Gaza. Associated Press reporters saw the bodies arriving in ambulances and private cars.

Also Wednesday, Doctors Without Borders said two people were killed when a shelter housing staff in the Gaza Strip was struck during an Israeli operation in an area where Palestinians have been told to seek shelter.