‘Silenced no more’: New findings document sexual torture linked to Hamas-led Oct 7 raid

A new report by the Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes has detailed what it describes as three distinct patterns of sexual violence during the Hamas-led attacks on Israel, documenting allegations of rape, gang rape, sexual torture, mutilation and postmortem abuse across multiple attack sites.

The report, titled Silenced No More, argues that sexual violence was not isolated or opportunistic but occurred in recurring patterns during the October 7 assault, which killed around 1,200 people and saw more than 250 taken hostage. The findings are based on witness testimony, forensic material, visual evidence and survivor accounts collected over months of investigation.

Investigators identify three categories of sexual violence

The first category involved rape, gang rape, sexual torture and genital mutilation carried out before execution. Investigators said several victims were allegedly assaulted and then killed, often with evidence suggesting the executions were directly linked to the assaults. In some documented cases, bodies were found partially or fully unclothed, restrained and bearing signs of severe physical trauma.

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The second category involved postmortem sexual abuse, where investigators say victims’ bodies showed signs of sexual violation after death. The report describes this as one of the most disturbing patterns uncovered, arguing that the alleged acts indicate deliberate humiliation and desecration beyond the killings themselves.

The third category details sexual assaults committed in the presence of family members and loved ones, which researchers say appeared designed to inflict psychological terror not only on direct victims but also on witnesses forced to observe the violence. In several testimonies, survivors described attacks unfolding in front of spouses, children or parents before executions or abductions followed.

The report says these patterns appeared across multiple locations, including communities near the Gaza border, roadside shelters and the Nova music festival site, suggesting what researchers describe as a broader operational pattern rather than isolated criminal acts.

The findings echo earlier conclusions from a United Nations mission led by Special Representative Pramila Patten, which said there were “reasonable grounds to believe” conflict-related sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, occurred during the October 7 attacks and that sexual abuse of hostages may have continued in captivity.

The Civil Commission argues that one of the biggest barriers to prosecution is that many alleged victims were killed during or after the assaults, leaving limited survivor testimony and complicating conventional evidentiary standards for war crimes investigations.

Its authors are now calling for international legal bodies to recognise these alleged acts as prosecutable crimes against humanity and to develop stronger frameworks for addressing conflict-related sexual violence where victims are unable to testify.

Hamas has repeatedly denied allegations that its fighters committed sexual assaults during the attacks. However, the report says the volume of corroborated evidence now requires what it calls “serious international legal scrutiny rather than political denial.”