United Nations accusations of sexual abuse by Israeli forces towards detained Palestinians are being denied by Israel
In a contentious turn of events, UN-backed human rights experts have accused Israel of the systematic use of sexual, reproductive, and other gender-based violence against Palestinian detainees. The Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory has documented a range of violations perpetrated against Palestinian women, men, girls, and boys.
These abuses, which have been reported since October 2023, involve acts such as forced nudity, strip searches, sexual harassment, sexual assault, threats of rape, and humiliating treatment. Notably, dozens of Palestinian women and girls reported sexual abuse during the storming of Kamal Adwan hospital in late 2024.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry report, submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2025, states that Israeli soldiers have forced Palestinian women to undress, beaten those who resisted, taken degrading photos in underwear and posed them in front of Israeli symbols, and shared these images online to demean the victims.
In response to these allegations, Israel's UN Ambassador, Danny Danon, dismissed them as baseless accusations, labeling them as emanating from "biased publications." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a similar vein, referred to the U.N. Human Rights Council, which commissioned the team of independent experts, as an "anti-Israel circus."
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has expressed grave concern about these reported violations and has formally warned Israel via letter about these patterns of sexual violence by its armed forces. He described genital violence, prolonged forced nudity, and abusive strip searches as documented by UN investigations. This warning suggests Israel could be listed in an upcoming UN report concerning armed forces' sexual abuses worldwide.
However, making a definitive determination about patterns, trends, and the systematic use of sexual violence by Israeli forces has been challenging due to Israel's denial of access to UN monitors. Despite this, Guterres has warned that Israeli forces may be listed as abusers in his next report on sexual violence in conflict.
In a separate development, Madonna pleaded with the Pope to visit Gaza 'before it's too late', while a journalist's killing in Gaza sends a chilling message. Meanwhile, Israel plans to widen its new Gaza offensive, and the ongoing war in Gaza, triggered by a Hamas attack in October 2023, has resulted in the death of over 61,400 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
[1] UN Report on Sexual Violence Against Palestinian Detainees [2] Israeli UN Ambassador's Response to Allegations [3] UN Secretary-General's Letter to Israel
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