Blame outside, abuse inside: ‘Israel’ accuses Hamas, ignores army sexual assaults

• Investigations cast doubt on claims of mass sexual assaults by Hamas after October 7, 2023 attacks.
• Internal military data reveal rising sexual violence within the ‘Israeli’ army, highlighting systemic ethical crisis.

After the October 7, 2023 attacks, widespread reports of mass sexual assaults allegedly committed by Hamas drew rapid international attention. Western media and political figures quickly amplified these claims, yet subsequent investigations found many allegations unverified or exaggerated. Meanwhile, internal data from the ‘Israeli’ army revealed a serious, ongoing problem of sexual violence within its ranks.

Contested Reports

In the days following the attacks, testimonies from ZAKA, a volunteer religious organization responsible for recovering victims’ bodies, described women who had been killed or mutilated, including alleged cases of sexual assault. Investigations by outlets such as Haaretz later showed that some accounts were exaggerated or fabricated, possibly to attract donations. The army and police also circulated videos from attack sites claiming organized sexual assaults, which fueled the narrative.

Read more: 'Israeli' soldier sexually assaults colleague on duty

Political leaders endorsed the narrative quickly. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Joe Biden called the assaults a “war tactic” used by Hamas, lending credibility and wide dissemination. However, investigative journalism began to challenge this account.

A December 2023 New York Times report, titled “Screams Without Words,” cited evidence of mass rape, but its main sources were a former military intelligence officer and journalist, Anat Schwartz, and some family testimonies later contradicted key claims. The UN, in a March 2024 report by special representative Ramila Pathan, confirmed “clear and compelling information” of sexual violence but relied on site inspections and victim examinations without meeting survivors directly, leaving the scope and systemic nature unverified.

Read more: Hamas calls for international pressure on ‘Israel’ to return deaths’ bodies

Independent media and human rights organizations remained skeptical. Haaretz noted the difficulty of finding living victims or DNA evidence. The Intercept and The Grayzone exposed fabricated witness accounts, including claims about pregnant women being harmed, which the army later admitted were false. Families denied that their daughters’ images were used to promote these stories. Hamas denied all allegations, describing them as propaganda to justify the war on Gaza.

Internal Military Crisis

While external claims remain unproven, internal army data paint a stark picture. Reports of sexual violence have steadily increased, often occurring in isolated locations with weak supervision, enabling abuse without accountability.

Key figures from 2020–2025 show:

• 2020: 1,542 complaints, up 15 percent from 2019.
• 2022: 33 percent of female conscripts experienced harassment at least once.
• 2024: 2,092 reports, including roughly 40 cases of rape or attempted rape.
• 2025: Over 2,300 reports, 48 formal indictments for rape or attempted rape.
• Victims: 82 percent women, 17–18 percent men.
• Perpetrators: 79 percent compulsory service soldiers, 9–14 percent reservists, 10–11 percent officers.
• Locations: 68–73 percent inside military facilities, 22 percent in operational sites such as towers or patrols.
• Types of violations: 2 percent rape or attempted rape, 35 percent intentional physical assault, 51 percent verbal harassment or hostile work environment.

Requests for psychological help rose 24 percent in 2023, and 22 suicides were recorded in 2025.

Several scandals exposed the depth of the problem. The Gilboa prison case involved female conscripts subjected to harassment or assault by prisoners in exchange for favors. In November 2025, a soldier was formally charged in January 2026 for raping a female conscript in a West Bank watchtower, highlighting failures in operational oversight. Officers exploited their positions to coerce sexual relations, and many cases were closed without trial due to a culture of silence and fear of professional repercussions.

The ethical crisis and sexual assaults within the ‘Israeli’ army pose a direct threat to discipline and institutional integrity. Claims of mass sexual assaults by Hamas remain unproven and often politically leveraged. In contrast, internal military records reveal a systemic failure demanding urgent reforms.