Israeli women and legal activists have accused international rights groups of maintaining a conspiracy of silence over alleged rapes and other sexual crimes committed by Hamas militants during the October 7 attacks.
Even before forensic examinations began, an abundance of images pointed to the gruesome nature of the attacks, with pictures shared online and live footage streamed by the militants as they killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to an Israeli count.
In addition to investigating the bloodshed, Israeli police say they have been exploring evidence of sexual violence, ranging from alleged gang rape to post-mortem mutilation.
Their inquiry has, so far, gathered “more than 1,500 shocking and difficult testimonies”, a senior police officer told Israel’s parliament this week, from witnesses, medics and pathologists.