A new report published in the British Medical Journal has outlined a systematic pattern of sexual violence and abuse directed at Palestinians within Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The documentation, which incorporates evidence from humanitarian and human rights organisations, suggests these acts are not isolated incidents but part of a wider strategy used to terrorise communities and facilitate forced displacement. Content warning: This article contains descriptions of sexual violence and abuse that readers may find distressing. The scale of documented abuse is compounded by the barriers survivors face in reporting violence and obtaining care. Shame, stigma, and distrust of complaint mechanisms can keep survivors from coming forward, fear of reprisals.
This investigation follows the third anniversary of the ongoing war in Gaza, which has resulted in over 75,000 fatalities and the mass displacement of millions. Dr. Nick Maynard, an Oxford-based consultant surgeon who has conducted multiple medical missions in Gaza since 2010, describes this behaviour as a core policy designed to break the will of the Palestinian population. Dr. Maynard states that those subjected to torture and sexual violence while in Israeli custody were also systematically denied essential medical care. The report comes a few weeks after the third anniversary of the start of Israel’s genocidal war against Palestine that has killed more than 75,000 people and displaced millions in the devastated enclave of Gaza.
The findings align with a March 2025 conclusion from the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which identified sexual and gender-based violence as a deliberate method of warfare.
The UN commission noted that activities such as forced public stripping, sexual harassment, and assault appeared to be standard operating procedures for Israeli security forces.
These actions, ranging from rape and genital assault to threats against detainees and their families, were categorised by the Commission as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Specific cases documented in the report reveal severe physical consequences, including detainees suffering rectal ruptures that necessitated surgical intervention, and others experiencing the loss of testicles due to violent beatings targeting their genitals. The report also documents the widespread use of forced nudity during military operations, with accounts of soldiers filming women’s underwear in raided homes and sharing the images online for humiliation. A Palestinian detainee suffered a rectal rupture requiring surgery and the formation of a stoma, in one documented case.
A 2026 UN report on conflict-related sexual violence verified these claims, documenting instances involving 31 Palestinian men, women, and children between 2023 and 2025. Among these victims, nine were subjected to rape or gang rape. Beyond detention facilities, the report details how sexualised threats have become an everyday reality for Palestinians at checkpoints, during military raids, and in displacement sites. Alongside other forms of violence and intimidation faced by Palestinian communities, the findings illustrate how sexual violence can contribute to an environment of coercion and displacement.
Research involving 39 displaced households in Area C of the occupied West Bank found that over 70 percent of families cited the threat of sexual violence toward women and children as a primary factor in their decision to flee their homes. Similarly, data from 2025 indicates that more than half of 165 detained Palestinian children, aged 12 to 17, reported experiencing or witnessing sexual violence, including rape threats and genital assault, during their time in custody.
Dr. Maynard, who visited Gaza three times following the events of October 7, 2023, highlighted the critical lack of medical resources caused by the blockade and the direct targeting of healthcare facilities, which prevented many victims from recovering from such trauma. He emphasised that documenting the full scope of these abuses remains difficult because authorities have consistently barred independent investigators from reviewing detention conditions. According to maynard, who has travelled to Gaza repeatedly since 2010, including on three occasions since October 7, 2023,, He witnessed appalling atrocities including mass casualties caused by bombings in densely populated civilian areas, with children among those killed. During his work, Maynard collected detailed testimonies from two healthcare workers and one civilian who had been abducted and detained in Israeli prisons. “I have worked in the hospitals with many patients who died because of the lack of resources, and clearly many of them would have survived if we had had adequate resources.”. “It is challenging to document the full extent of sexual violence as Israel has repeatedly refused to allow independent investigators to review what is going on,” he adds. Limited access for independent investigators also limits evidence collection and verification. “We believe these abuses are greatly underreported for many reasons. Preserve evidence and determine the roles of direct perpetrators and those in positions of command, establishing criminal responsibility requires investigators to examine individual incidents.
Legal experts, including Neve Gordon, a professor of human rights and humanitarian law at Queen Mary University of London, have called for credible, independent investigations that extend to those who enabled or ordered these actions. “Western governments such as the UK government have an obligation under international law to prevent these violations and to make sure international humanitarian law is upheld.”.
Historical data underscores this demand for accountability; between 2017 and 2021, only 11 out of 1,260 reported offences by soldiers against Palestinians resulted in formal indictments.
Proponents of the investigation are now urging international governments to intervene and ensure independent monitoring of the situation.
