Greg Bouwer
IINZ
On October 7, 2023, the world witnessed one of the most brutal pogroms against Jews since the Holocaust. That morning, Hamas terrorists surged across the Gaza border and unleashed a rampage of murder, mutilation, abduction – and sexual violence.
Over 1,200 people were slaughtered in their homes, on the roads, or while dancing at the Nova music festival. But as investigations unfolded, it became clear that this was more than indiscriminate butchery. Sexual violence had been used deliberately, systematically, and with grotesque celebration.
Last week, yet another authoritative report confirmed what many survivors and forensic experts have long known.
The Dinah Project Report: Devastating Evidence
On 8 July 2025, the Dinah Project – a non-governmental legal and gender rights initiative named after the biblical survivor of rape and abuse – released its landmark report:“A Quest for Justice: October 7 and Beyond.”
Based on more than 60 testimonies, including:
- 15 returned hostages, both female and male;
- 17 eyewitnesses, many of them first responders and emergency medical personnel;
- And 27 forensic professionals, including coroners and ZAKA volunteers who examined bodies at massacre sites;
the report concluded that sexual violence was not incidental to the October 7 attacks – it was strategic.
Women were found naked, mutilated, and raped, with gunshot wounds to the genital area, hands tied behind their backs, and signs of sadistic violence post-mortem. Some bodies were burned to obscure evidence – not merely to kill, but to conceal the nature of the crimes.
In the words of one first responder:
“I saw a woman with her legs splayed, her trousers torn, blood between her legs, and her head nearly decapitated. No soldier in my unit could speak for hours after.”
These accounts align with earlier documentation by the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, whose March 2024 report concluded there was “clear and convincing” evidence that Hamas had engaged in sexual violence amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Legal Framework: This Is a War Crime
The use of sexual violence in war is categorically prohibited under international law. It is not a ‘grey area’. It is not culturally relative. It is a war crime, a crime against humanity, and – depending on intent – can constitute genocide.
Relevant statutes include:
- Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998): rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, and other sexual violence are listed as war crimes (Article 8) and crimes against humanity (Article 7).
- Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols: prohibit outrages upon personal dignity, particularly humiliating and degrading treatment, including rape.
- UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820: explicitly recognize sexual violence as a tactic of war and call for accountability.
The Dinah Project’s legal team, along with international lawyers and jurists, argue that the evidence meets these legal thresholds. Furthermore, they recommend new legal standards for accountability when victims are dead or when direct witness testimony is unavailable – because in many cases, the victims of these crimes were murdered, their voices permanently silenced.
Premeditated, Celebrated, Denied
One of the most chilling aspects of the Dinah Project report is the indication of premeditation:
- Hamas terrorists were reportedly briefed in advance that rape would be permitted.
- Videos on Hamas members’ phones included instructions and encouragements to violate hostages.
- After the attacks, many bragged about what they had done – some on live streams.
And yet, many in the international community refused to believe.
In the immediate aftermath of the attack, major feminist organisations, human rights NGOs, and multilateral bodies like the United Nations Human Rights Council remained silent. Some even questioned whether the atrocities had occurred. Media figures, activists, and politicians repeated claims that the sexual violence was “unproven,” “exaggerated,” or “an Israeli psychological operation”.
Even after the UN itself confirmed the sexual crimes, excuses continued.
This is not skepticism – it is moral depravity.
Why, Then, Do So Many Still Support Hamas?
Despite the mounting evidence, Hamas continues to enjoy support – from parts of the Western activist left, from academic institutions, from progressive politicians, and from much of the Gazan population itself.
1. The Anti-Colonial Illusion
Many Hamas apologists view the group not as terrorists, but as legitimate freedom fighters resisting colonial oppression. This postcolonial framing casts Israel as the eternal villain, and Hamas as heroic underdogs – rendering any atrocity acceptable under the rubric of “resistance”.
Sexual violence, in this warped narrative, becomes a regrettable byproduct of war – or worse, ignored entirely.
But rape is not resistance.Murdering a woman and desecrating her body is not freedom-fighting. And no political cause ever justifies systematic, sadistic cruelty.
2. Denial, Deflection, and Disinformation
Some simply refuse to believe the atrocities occurred – dismissing every report as “Zionist propaganda”. This view is reinforced by disinformation ecosystems online, where Hamas-friendly influencers, bot networks, and activists flood social media with denials and counter-narratives.
Every photo is said to be “staged”. Every testimony “coerced”. Every survivor “a liar”.
This intentional gaslighting of survivors is one of the most pernicious elements of modern conflict disinformation.
3. Gaza’s Support for Hamas is Real
While some defenders insist Gazans are merely oppressed by Hamas, polling tells another story.
According to repeated surveys by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR):
- A majority of Gazans expressed support for Hamas, even after October 7.
- Many believe that the attacks brought attention to the Palestinian cause.
- Martyrdom and “resistance” remain dominant themes in education and public messaging.
To pretend that Hamas has no public mandate in Gaza is willful ignorance. The sad truth is that many Gazans share Hamas’s ideology and goals, and the socialisation of children into hate and jihad continues unabated.
4. Western Double Standards
Feminist organisations and human rights groups that rightly condemned sexual violence in Ukraine, Congo, or Syria fell eerily silent when it came to Jewish women raped by Islamist terrorists.
Where were the open letters? The hashtags? The protest marches?
Where was Amnesty International’s urgent statement? Where was Human Rights Watch?
The silence reveals a grotesque hierarchy of victims: some women’s pain is politically useful. Others, like the Israeli women butchered on October 7, are inconvenient.
This isn’t just hypocrisy. It’s complicity.
A Path to Justice
The Dinah Project recommends several steps to secure justice for victims:
- Immediate legal action through the International Criminal Court against Hamas leadership.
- Formal UN designation of Hamas as an entity that uses sexual violence as a weapon of war – placing it on par with ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Janjaweed.
- New evidentiary standards in war crimes trials where victims have been silenced.
- Global educational campaigns to combat denial and amplify the testimonies of survivors and first responders.
In their own words:
“The world must no longer look away. These women and girls deserve justice – not just in the courtroom, but in the court of public conscience.”
Conclusion: Moral Clarity Demands Courage
It should not be difficult to condemn rape, murder, and mutilation. It should not require moral courage to say that what Hamas did was evil.
But in 2025, we find ourselves in a world where:
- Human rights groups equivocate,
- Universities host rallies for Hamas,
- And politicians march under banners that glorify mass murderers.
The Dinah Project has given us proof. The survivors have given us testimony. Forensic experts have given us evidence.
Now, the rest of us must give something too: truth, justice, and moral clarity.
Because if the world continues to look away from the rape of Israeli women – while making excuses for their abusers – then we have not only failed Israel.
We have failed humanity.
This article was originally published by the Israel Institute of New Zealand.
