Israel Faces Global Skepticism Over Hamas Sexual Violence on Oct. 7

Michal Yaniv, a former head of department at the National Security Council, discussed the challenges Israel faces in convincing the international community that Hamas terrorists committed sexual violence during the October 7th attacks. Yaniv, who initiated the national team investigating sexual violence during the attacks and in captivity, highlighted the difficulty in proving the extent of these assaults and the behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts. She explained that the goal was to persuade the world that sexual violence was used as a weapon of war, constituting crimes against humanity by Hamas, a process that took considerable time as more evidence emerged.

Yaniv detailed three phases where sexual violence was identified: during the October 7th attack itself, during the transfer of hostages to Gaza, and during their captivity. She noted that initially, even Israeli professionals struggled to recognize the widespread nature of the phenomenon, as it was unprecedented in Israeli and Jewish history. Security personnel, first responders, medical staff, and burial teams took time to comprehend the scale of the events. Early interrogations of captured Hamas Nukhba terrorists by the Shin Bet initially suggested isolated incidents or acts by civilians who infiltrated Israel after the main Hamas assault. However, accumulating evidence eventually led to the understanding that something more systematic had occurred.

Yaniv stated that during the first year of investigations, captured Nukhba terrorists were willing to confess to horrific acts but vehemently denied sexual violence, indicating a significant level of denial. She suggested that this tactic might have been learned from ISIS, citing the large number of Hamas operatives who went to Syria after Operation Protective Edge in 2014, where systematic sexual violence was observed in conquered territories. Yaniv also pointed out the reluctance of international women's organizations to engage with and amplify Israel's narrative, describing it as a form of global hypocrisy where such issues are relegated to the background.

The national team's target audience included not only world leaders but also Hamas itself. Yaniv mentioned that intelligence materials, which Israel could not publicly disclose, were presented to parliaments and experts to pressure for the release of hostages. She believes that once hostages were released, their personal testimonies became crucial. Yaniv emphasized that for the world to believe Israel, it must prosecute those in its custody for war crimes, including sexual violence charges, for the first time. This, she argued, is essential for delegitimizing Hamas, cutting its funding, and ensuring these stories are remembered for generations, serving as a crucial historical record and support for survivors.