Gangbang. He was later mutilated, killed and beheaded. The shocking truth about sexual violence committed by Hamas militias on October 7 was confirmed by an investigation by the New York Times. The US newspaper conducted a two-month investigation and uncovered harrowing details indicating sexual violence and mutilation in many places targeted by terrorists on the day of the attack, which marked the beginning of the new war between Israel and Hamas.
The horror inflicted on Israeli women
Gal Abdush, a mother of two living in Central Israel, disappeared at the party that turned into a massacre. In the viral video taken by a woman searching for her missing friend, Gal Abdush is seen lying partially clothed on the street with her face burned beyond recognition. Based on video evidence, Israeli police officers believe that Gal Abdush was one of many women raped by Hamas militants. Her tragic story became a symbol of the horror inflicted on Israeli women during the attacks.
The investigation identified at least seven places where Israeli women and girls were sexually assaulted or mutilated. Witnesses, medical personnel, soldiers and rape counselors were among the 150 people interviewed by the New York Times, who provided a comprehensive picture of the widespread gender-based violence that occurred on October 7.
The horror happened at parties, at military bases and kibbutzim on the Gaza border. Several witnesses described sensational scenes of women being raped and murdered at various locations along Route 232, the highway where Gal Abdush’s body was found. According to the NYT, doctors and volunteer soldiers reported finding more than 30 bodies of women and girls in a condition similar to Gal Abdush’s: legs spread, clothes torn, and signs of abuse on the genitals.
Shani Louk was allegedly beheaded by Hamas militants
Not just. The newspaper displayed disturbing photos and videos, including a photo and video showing a woman’s body with nails stuck in her thighs and groin. Another video provided by the Israeli army showed the dead of two female soldiers at a base near Gaza, apparently shot directly in the genitals.
Difficult recognition of corpses
Hamas’ denial of allegations of sexual violence sparked outrage among Israeli activists. NYT recalls that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Women were criticized for not immediately admitting to the accusations, but did so a few days later.
Acknowledging the difficulties encountered during the chaotic events of October 7, Israeli police said they did not initially focus on collecting forensic evidence on the women’s bodies. Chaos, grief and religious duties led to hasty funerals, and many bodies were left unexamined. The lack of autopsy and crime scene investigations led families to search for answers.
The investigation faced obstacles in collecting forensic evidence, common in cases of widespread sexual violence during conflict. Adil Haque, a law professor and war crimes expert at Rutgers, explained the difficulties by underlining that in armed conflicts, priority is given to security rather than the investigation of criminal cases. “Armed conflict is a very chaotic situation,” he said, adding that sex crime cases are often tried years later based on victim and witness statements. “The eyewitness may not even know the victim’s name,” he added. “But if he can testify by saying, ‘I saw this armed group raping a woman,’ that might be enough,” according to the US newspaper.
Women torn to pieces
A key witness named Sapir gave a graphic account of the brutality inflicted on women by armed men. Recalling that he witnessed the rape and murder of at least five women, he emphasized the chaos and brutality of the attackers. Sapir’s account was supported by photographs of his hiding place and his wounds.
He said he saw motorcycles, cars and trucks approaching about 15 meters from where he was hiding. He said he saw “about 100 men,” most dressed in military fatigues and combat boots, some wearing dark clothing, entering and exiting vehicles. The men gathered along the road and passed among themselves carrying assault rifles, grenades, small missiles and seriously injured women, the NYT report said. “This place was like a rallying point,” he said.
Sapir said the first victim he saw was a young woman with copper-colored hair, blood running down her back, and her trousers pulled down to her knees. A man forced her to bend over by pulling her hair. Sapir said someone else raped her and stuck a knife in her back every time she hesitated.
He said he later saw another woman being “torn to pieces”. She said that while one terrorist raped her, another took out a box cutter and cut her chest. “One of them continued to rape her, and the other one threw her breast at someone else, and they played with it, threw it, and dropped it on the street,” Sapir said, according to the New York Times.
The witness added that the men cut the woman’s face and then she lost her vision. He said that around the same time, he saw three more women being raped and the terrorists carrying the severed heads of three more women. Sapir provided photos of his hiding place and his injuries, and police officers confirmed his testimony, releasing a video in which his face was obscured and he described some of what he saw.
She was raped in turn
Another witness, Raz Cohen, a young Israeli who attended the party and had recently trained Congolese soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said he hid in a dried creek bed, according to the NYT report. In an hour-and-a-half interview at a Tel Aviv restaurant, he said some of the attackers were hiding, searching the area and shooting anyone they found.
Massacre at a party like the Bataclan, stories of survivors: “They were shooting at us”
He remembered that a white van stopped maybe 40 meters away and its doors opened. He later said he saw five men in civilian clothes, all with knives and one with a hammer, dragging a woman across the ground. She was young, naked and screaming. “They all rally around him,” Cohen said. “She is standing. They start raping her. I saw men standing in a semicircle around her. One of them enters her. She screams. I still remember her voice, she screams without saying a word.” “Then one of them raised the knife and they slaughtered him,” he said.
Another statement cited by the NYT report is that of Shoam Gueta, who described the horrific scenes of women being raped and murdered. Volunteer emergency medical technicians said they found bodies bearing signs of sexual violence in rave sites and kibbutzim, and regretted not being able to document more due to religious rules and respect for the dead. Despite the challenges, Israeli police continue to uncover evidence of sexual violence.
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Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
