Both Israeli and Palestinian authorities have accused each other of committing sexual violence.
The United Nations has filed reports of sexual violence committed by Israeli soldiers against Palestinians.
The UN has also reported sexual violence against Israeli hostages, particularly on October 7, 2023. A 2024 report found Israelis were raped or gang raped on October 7, and there were “reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may still be ongoing against those in captivity”.
There have also been repeated attacks on Palestinians’ reproductive health and access, considered a reproductive rights crisis.
Fertility clinics and IVF facilties have been bombed, also blocking neonatal care for pregnancies. There have also been reports of young people having their genitals shot.
UN human rights experts believe the allegations of gang rape only represent the “tip of the iceberg” of the experiences of Palestinian detainees. There’s an estimated 10,000 Palestinians in Israeli custody, with 5,000 having been held since before October 7th. Some are children.
History shows us sexual violence has also been used in other genocidal conflicts. It was widely used in Rwanda in 1994, and earlier in Nazi Germany.
The United Nations has documented more than 51,000 cases of sexual violence across various conflicts, with a 50% increase in the number of victims in the last three years.
Reported cases include a wide range of unthinkable acts, including gang rape, anal rape, sexual slavery, abortion and genital mutilation among women and girls, as well as men and boys.
This figure is grossly underreported as many victims do not come forward due to fear, guilt and shame.
The vast majority of sexual violence in war is perpetrated by men. Victims of sexual violence, both in Gaza are more broadly, are disproportionately women and girls.
The UN has recently referred to Gaza as a femi-genocide.
I’m afraid to say I think the UN is compromised these days with regards to Israel.
There is no doubt Hamas raped, tortured and destroyed as many men, women and children as they could on October 7.
Hamas has ensured as many civilian casualties as possible occured in Gaza to use for anti Israeli propaganda.
Hamas are terrorists who subjugated their population, literally throwing the opposition off tall buildings.
Their views on women and any version of LGBTQI is positively medieval.