Colonel William A. Phillips

During the 2023-24 Israel-Hamas war, some Palestinian women and girls have reportedly been raped and sexually assaulted by Israeli Defense Forces soldiers. The IDF has been accused of committing acts of gender-based violence, war crimes and crimes against humanity in keeping with the recognition of the International Criminal Court (ICC) that sexual violence is a war crime and a crime against humanity.

It has been reported that both female and male Palestinians have been subjected to sexual violence and torture by IDF soldiers.

The UN has condemned the reported acts of rape and sexual violence by the Israeli Defense Forces.

Background

Since the Nakba in 1948, Israel has used sexual assault as a tactic against the Palestinian people. This is backed both by testimonies from Palestinians and the accounts of former Israeli soldiers implicated in massacres similar to the one that took place in Tantura.^[1]

Reports

United Nations

On 19 February 2024, a group of United Nations special rapporteurs released a report stating "rights experts call for probe into violations against Palestinian women and girls. According to the report, there is evidence that during the Israel-Hamas war, Palestinian women and girls were subjected to wartime sexual violence. Palestinian women and girls were reportedly randomly executed in Gaza, often together with their children. Allegations surfaced suggesting that Palestinian women and girls were deliberately targeted and extrajudicially executed by the invading Israel Defense Forces, even when they were holding white pieces of cloth, seeking refugee or fleeing.^[2] According to these allegations, Palestinian women and girls were also subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment by the Israel Defense Forces, such as they were denied menstruation pads, food and medicine, and were severely beaten, raped, assaulted, threatened with rape and sexual violence, and subjected to multiple forms of other sexual assaults. Palestinian women and girls were also stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} OHCHR stated that Israeli troops had photographed female detainees in “degrading circumstances” and that the photos had been uploaded online.^[8][9]

The UN report states, "Palestinian women and girls in detention have also been subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault, such as being stripped naked and searched by male Israeli army officers. At least two female Palestinian detainees were reportedly raped".^[8][9] One of the special rapporteurs; Reem Alsalem, cautioned that the reservation in reporting sexual violence was common due to reprisal concerns. Alsalem stated that since the 7 October attacks, women and girls in Israeli detention had faced an increasingly permissive attitude by Israeli officials towards sexual assault.^[10] According to Middle East Eye, the word "at least" highlights the fact that many occurrences remain unrecorded, as victims dread the shame and punishments associated with coming out about sexual abuse in a society where women are unwilling to face such offenses.^[1]

The special rapporteurs have also raised concerns over a number of Palestinian women and children going missing, with reports of children being separated from their parents. In one instance a female infant was reportedly forcibly relocated from their parents into Israel.^[11] In response to the report, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of State said, "Civilians and detainees must be treated humanely, and in accordance with international humanitarian law."^[12] Physicians for Human Rights-Israel also described the sexual humiliation of detainees, including sexual insults and urination on prisoners.^[13] The Palestinian Prisoner's Society stated men had been subjected to severe sexual assault, including attempted rape and violating strip searches.^[14]

Reports of abuse while detained

Torture, ill-treatment, and sexual violence of detained Palestinians by Israel, have been reportedly prevalent for years before the 7 October attacks and invasion of Gaza, with documentation recorded by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) and Amnesty International. There has been extensive of sexual violence against both male and female detainees, with the most notable case of imprisoned Lebanese Amal leader Mustafa Dirani who sued Israel on the claim of rape.^[15]

The Associated Press in March 2024 reported on Palestinian women claiming to have been abused during their detention by Israel, one woman said that Israeli soldiers conducted strip searches, and during the detention, if "we raised our heads or uttered any words, they beat us on the head [...] Loud music, shouting and intimidation — they wanted to humiliate us. We were handcuffed, blindfolded, and our feet were tied in chains"; another woman alleged that an Israeli soldier smashed her face into a wall when she would not kiss the flag of Israel.^[16]

Threats of rape and sexual violence

Palestinian women in Gaza have alleged threats of rape and sexual violence by invading Israeli soldiers.^[17] Speaking to Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, one Palestinian woman, who was pregnant, described being forced to undress by an Israeli soldier, who threatened to rape her.^[17]

Multiple Palestinian prisoners report having been subjected to sexual abuse and threats of rape following the outbreak of the war.^[18][19][20] The BBC reported on one such female prisoner, who said: "They threatened to rape me... It was clear the goal was to intimidate me."^[21] While Israel denied the allegations and threatened to prosecute her lawyer for incitement, the released prisoner reported rape threats against both herself and other incarcerated women. Another Palestinian woman also alleged threats of sexual assault by Israeli guards.^[19] Middle East Eye likewise reported on allegations by detainees that "Israeli guards have threatened sexual assault against female inmates and assaulted them inside their cells."^[20]

Coverage in media

Social media posts by IDF members

Videos and pictures of Israeli soldiers going through Palestinian women's underwear in Gaza went viral, leading MIFTAH, a Palestinian women's advocacy organization, to state they showed "depravity".^[22] In one video an IDF soldier records himself going through a Palestinian woman's wardrobe, including her underwear while making derogatory and sexist remarks about Arab women.^[23] Another image shows two male IDF troops, one wearing a Palestinian woman's bra while the other stands next to him groping the empty bra and sticking his tongue out, while another male IDF soldier is recorded detailing how he intends to bring back Palestinian women's belongings back to his girlfriend in Israel.^[24] A video was posted by an IDF soldier showing him sitting on top of a tank holding a female mannequin dressed in a black bra and helmet, stating "I found a beautiful wife, serious relationship in Gaza, great woman."^[25]

Women interviewed in Geneva expressed their outrage and discomfort at the images posted by the IDF, which shows male IDF troops posing with lingerie and underwear of Palestinian women that they had taken from displaced persons homes in Gaza.^[26] A UN Human Rights Office spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, called the postings as "...demeaning to Palestinian women, and all women." An assistant professor of law at Queen's University in Canada stated the posts violated article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention which states all civilians are entitled to respect with women being especially protected against any attack on their honour.^[25]

Fabricated report allegations

In late March 2024, Al Jazeera reported in its live blog on an allegation against the IDF of committing rape at Shifa Hospital. The story was based on a testimony from Jamila al-Hessi, a Gazan woman, who said she had seen IDF soldiers “raping women then killing them and burning entire families alive.” These reports quickly gained international attention and provoked widespread condemnation. However, it was subsequent reported that an investigation by Hamas determined that her allegations were false. Yasser Abuhilalah, a columnist and former director at Al-Jazeera, said on social media that Hamas had found her allegation to be baseless. He added that "the woman who spoke about rape justified her exaggeration and incorrect talk by saying that the goal was to arouse the nation’s fervor and brotherhood." In response, Al-Jazeera removed its video but not the content on its live blog without issuing an official retraction.^[27][28]

International reactions

In response to the UN report, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of State said, "Civilians and detainees must be treated humanely, and in accordance with international humanitarian law."^[12] Physicians for Human Rights-Israel also described the sexual humiliation of detainees, including sexual insults and urination on prisoners.^[13] The Palestinian Prisoner's Society stated men had been subjected to severe sexual assault, including attempted rape and violative strip searches.^[14]

The US said it could not independently confirm independently the reports, Israel said it had not received any complaint of sexual abuse, and criticized the UN report as biased. Israel alleged that one of the report’s authors had rhetorically legitimized Hamas’s 7 October attack a few days prior to the UN panel, and that another had “publicly doubted the testimonies of Israeli victims of gender-based and sexual violence.”^{[3][4][6][29]} The Israeli mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland stated that "Israel forcefully rejects the despicable and unfounded claims published today by a group of so-called U.N. experts".^[30]

See also

• Human rights violations against Palestinians by Israel
• Mass detentions in the Israel–Hamas war
• Sexual and gender-based violence in the 7 October attack on Israel
• War crimes in the Israel–Hamas war
• Women in the Israel–Hamas war

References