Alwaght- Israel's name is so synonymous with crimes that almost on every list, the biggest violators of the basic human rights in the wars are the Israelis.
In recent days, the latest update of the UN blacklist of the sexual criminals in wars named Israeli security institutions as the most serious violators of the war laws that aimed at countering sexual violence against civilians and prisoners of war, arousing the ire of the Israeli regime's officials. Following the update, the Israeli foreign ministry said it cut off ties to the UN office in the occupied territories.
Hidden realities of Gaza war
Despite several months having passed since the official end of the war in Gaza, vast dimensions of human rights violations and crimes committed by Israeli forces against the strip’s residents remain buried under the rubble, and it will take a long time before the full scale of these atrocities comes to light.
Alongside charges such as indiscriminate bombing, collective punishment, forced displacement, using starvation as a weapon of war, and attacking civilian infrastructure, various UN bodies have in recent years increasingly spoken out about the prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence amid the conflict.
In 2025 and 2026, several major UN reports accused Israeli forces of acts falling under “conflict-related sexual violence”, including rape, gang rape, forced nudity, sexual torture, genital violence, humiliating body searches, and threats of rape against Palestinian detainees from Gaza and the West Bank.
Key UN reports about Israeli sexual abuse and violence in Gaza
1. Report published by the International Independent Investigation Commission (IIIC) in 2025: One of the most significant documents released was the report by the IIIC on the Israeli regime.
In March 2025, the commission published a report titled: “More Than a Human Can Bear: Israel’s Systematic Use of Sexual, Reproductive, and Other Forms of Gender-Based Violence Since October 2023.”
The report found that Israeli forces have increasingly used sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinians as part of a broader pattern of repression and domination.
According to the document, documented cases included:
- Forced public nudity
- Sexual humiliation
- Threats of rape
- Genital violence
- Sexual assault during detention and interrogation
- Abuse of both men and women
- Destruction of healthcare and reproductive services in Gaza
The UN body stressed that some of these acts were not isolated or individual incidents but followed a systematic pattern.
The report also stated that attacks on maternity wards and reproductive health services could be examined within the framework of “genocidal acts,” as such measures potentially play a role in preventing births among the Palestinian population.
2. UN Secretary-General's report on war-related sexual violence in 2026: Another important report was released by the UN chief António Guterres this year.
This report confirmed various cases of sexual violence against the Palestinians imprisoned by the Israeli institutions between 2023-2025.
The report points the finger of blame on the Israeli army, Israeli Prison Service, police, abs the so-called counter-terror units.
According to the report, the documented cases include:
- Rape and gang rape
- Rape with objects
- Genital violence
- Forced nudity
-Body and cavity searches without security justification
- Threats of rape
- Sexual torture during interrogations
The report stressed that many victims were detainees from Gaza, journalists, and human rights activists, and that some suffered severe physical injuries without access to medical care.
The significance of this report lies in the fact that, as a result, the UN placed the Israeli regime on its list of entities accused of committing organized sexual violence in wartime, a list that previously included other states and armed groups.
Instrumentalizing sexual violence to displace the Palestinians of West Bank
Systematic sexual violence and rape against the Palestinians in the past years has not been limited to Gazans, rather, various reports suggested violations against the West Bank residents, as well as the Palestinian prisoners.
According to a report published in April by West Bank Protection Consortium, Israeli soldiers and settlers have used sexual violence, rape, and sexual harassment as a tool to force Palestinians out of their homes in the occupied West Bank. Men, women, and children underwent painful body searches, including genital organs, and threats of violence. This included underage children, the report added.
Coming in 83 pages, the report said that sexual violence accelerated displacement of the Palestinians. Over two-thirds of the families cited sexual harassment as the core driver of their decision to flee their homes. The fallout includes girls dropping out of school, women losing their jobs, and a spike in early marriage among girls aged 15 to 17.
Israeli regime’s judicial system, experts say, has also played a role in perpetuating and escalating these organized crimes, by acquitting soldiers in rape cases involving detainees, thereby reinforcing a culture of impunity. This comes even as, according to a Guardian report citing the head of the Women’s Protection Unit at the Women Center for Legal Aid and Counseling (WCLAC), perhaps only 1 percent of sexual violence cases are ever reported.
What do the international laws say about rape and sexual violence in war?
In international laws, rape and sexual violence in war are not regarded merely offenses or unethical behavior; they are war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, and even in some cases genocide.
The Geneva Conventions prohibit all forms of violence against civilians and detainees, including humiliating treatment and sexual violence.
The Fourth Geneva Convention specifically protects civilians under occupation and explicitly lists sexual violence as a prohibited act, categorizing it alongside torture and attacks on human dignity.
The International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute defines rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, and other forms of sexual violence as war crimes and crimes against humanity. Under the statute, if such acts are committed widespread or systematically against a civilian population, they can amount to crimes against humanity.
Beyond these conventions, UN Security Council resolutions, including 1820, 1888, and 2467, also classify the use of sexual violence in war as a war crime, a crime against humanity, or a constitutive act of genocide. The resolutions further emphasize the need to protect victims and hold perpetrators accountable.
Why does not international community act effectively?
Despite the abundance of documents and evidence, effective punitive measures against the Israeli military personnel and the army are not taken.
One of the main reasons the international institutions are unable to make Tel Aviv accountable and punish the Israeli political and military officials is the unwavering US support to this regime especially at the UN Security Council, offering Israel a legal and judicial impunity.
Washington has several times used its veto right to prevent binding resolutions from being adopted by the UNSC.
Many Western governments remain reluctant to confront the Israeli regime forcefully, largely turning a blind eye to its crimes. This stems from several factors: the regime hiding behind the Holocaust narrative, branding its opponents as anti-Semitic, as well as geopolitical considerations and political ties with Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, the weak enforcement mechanisms of international law, especially the General Assembly’s lack of real power, have played a major role in allowing the regime’s atrocities to continue. To date, numerous countries across Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the Arab world have accused Israel of committing war crimes or genocide.
However, imposing any penalties requires cooperation among states, sanctions, arrest warrants, or a Security Council resolution. Without the backing of major powers, these mechanisms often remain purely symbolic.
So, the new UN move to label Israel a sexual violence commiter during war once again highlights the gap between the legal principles and the political realities, where the international organizations can document crimes but the justice remains tied to the balance of power on the international stage.
