A groundbreaking new report from Israel is shedding light on “a clear operational strategy” pursued by Hamas on October 7 to terrorize and sexually assault Israeli civilians. 

Far from “an isolated incident or sporadic cases,” the rapes of Israeli women, children, and men constituted a comprehensive and deliberate attack on the Jewish state, according to the first report on the matter released by the Israeli agency devoted to addressing rape across the country, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers.

Classified testimonies from survivors, eyewitness reports, and the bodies of female soldiers show that “sexual and gender-based violence occurred systematically” across the primary areas of attack on October 7 — the Nova Music Festival, private homes in Southern Israel’s Kibbutzim, and Israeli Defense Force bases. Sexual assaults also occurred in Gaza, where Hamas terrorists took 254 individuals they abducted on the day.

Many of the rapes were carried out by groups of terrorists and involved the use of weapons against women. “Often, the rape was perpetrated in front of an audience — partners, family, or friends — in a manner intended to increase the pain and humiliation of all present,” the report’s authors, Dr. Carmit Klar-Chalamish and Noga Berger, write. Most victims were killed during or after the act of rape.

Other “sadistic practices” employed by Hamas terrorists include the mutilation and destruction of genital organs, the insertion of weapons in intimate areas, and the tying and binding of bodies as a “practice of humiliation and exertion of power.”

The report represents only an initial examination of all the public and classified information currently available. More reporting is expected to be published as new details of the October 7 attacks come to light.