Tel Aviv, July 9, (dpa/GNA) – A report released on Tuesday offers detailed evidence, that Hamas used sexualized violence as a “tactical weapon of war”
during its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, and such violence continued against hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
The report by the Dinah Project, a group of Israeli legal and gender experts, is based on the testimonies of survivors of the massacre and hostage-
taking, as well as the results of examinations of the dead.
The research revealed patterns in the way sexualized violence was perpetrated: Victims were found partially or completely naked with their hands tied to
trees or poles, for example. There is also evidence of gang rape followed by execution, genital mutilation and public humiliation, it said.
A report by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ARCCI) almost a year and a half ago, already addressed the extent of sexualised violence
during the massacre.
The Dinah report now states that sexualized violence continued after October 7 in the hostage situation in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has consistently denied
reports of systematic sexualized violence.
Female hostages who were released reported sexual assaults, physical and verbal sexual harassment, forced nudity and threats of forced marriages.
Fifteen former hostages told the Dinah Project team about their experiences while being held hostage.
Ilana Gritzewsky, who was released after 55 days of being held hostage, said at the presentation of the report: “I remember hands that weren’t mine
touching me. I remember screaming, then darkness.”
“When I woke up, I was half-naked, surrounded by terrorists. They beat me. They touched me. I didn’t know what had happened to my body during those lost
minutes, but my soul already knew: nothing would ever be the same.”
GNA