For two years, the primary struggle surrounding the sexual violence committed during the October 7 attacks has been one of documentation: proving that these crimes occurred in the face of destroyed crime scenes and a pervasive campaign of denial. Now, a new independent investigation argues that the focus must shift from proving the existence of these atrocities to building the legal machinery required to prosecute them.
The Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children, led by international law expert and Israel Prize laureate Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, has released an exhaustive report titled “Sexual Terror Unveiled: The Untold Atrocities of October 7 and Against Hostages in Captivity.” The report presents what the Commission describes as the most extensive evidentiary record to date, moving the conversation from a collection of testimonies to a structured legal archive.
The report’s central thesis is that sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) was not a series of isolated, opportunistic acts by individual militants, but was systematic, widespread, and integral to the broader attack. By cross-referencing thousands of data points, the Commission aims to provide a blueprint for international prosecutors to hold both direct perpetrators and the leadership of Hamas accountable.
A Model for Prosecuting Fragmented Evidence
In a typical criminal investigation, prosecutors work backward from a body or a specific crime scene. However, the October 7 massacre presented an “extraordinary” forensic challenge. Many victims were murdered, bodies were burned, and first responders operated under mass-casualty conditions that precluded standard forensic preservation. Many surviving witnesses were too traumatized to provide linear accounts, or saw only fragments of the violence.
To solve this, the Commission developed an evidentiary model based on “cumulative proof.” Rather than relying on a single witness or a lone video, the model identifies recurring patterns across different geographic sites and timeframes. This approach allows legal teams to establish a “system of violence” even when specific forensic evidence for a single victim may be incomplete.
The foundation of this model is a dedicated war crimes archive. According to the report, this database includes:
- More than 10,000 photographs and video segments.
- Over 1,800 hours of visual analysis.
- More than 430 testimonies and interviews with survivors, released hostages, and experts.
- Data involving victims from 52 different nationalities.
Because the Commission began collecting material immediately after the attacks, they were able to preserve “perishable” evidence—original footage and digital communications—that were later deleted or lost from public platforms.
The Anatomy of ‘Kinocidal’ Violence
The investigation identifies 13 recurring patterns of sexual and gender-based violence. These range from gang rape and sexual torture to postmortem abuse and the filming of assaults for digital dissemination. The report argues that the act of filming and livestreaming was not incidental, but a deliberate method of psychological warfare intended to humiliate victims and terrorize their families.
One of the report’s most harrowing findings involves the targeting of family units. The Commission introduces the term “kinocidal sexual violence” to describe assaults that specifically exploit family bonds. This includes documenting cases where victims were abused in front of their relatives, or where family members were coerced into committing sexual acts against one another.
The report emphasizes that this violence was not limited to women. The documentation of sexual violence against boys and men is presented not as a deviation from the gendered nature of the crimes, but as a tool used to dominate and degrade victims across all gender lines.
Legal Classifications of the Atrocities
| Legal Category | Basis for Classification |
|---|---|
| War Crimes | Systematic attacks on civilians and prohibited acts of sexual violence in conflict. |
| Crimes Against Humanity | Widespread and systematic practice directed against a civilian population. |
| Genocidal Acts | Violence intended to destroy, in whole or in part, a protected group. |
| Torture | Severe physical and mental pain inflicted for purposes of intimidation or coercion. |
Extending the Scope: The Continuum of Captivity
A critical legal distinction made in the report is the rejection of October 7 as a standalone event. The Commission argues that the sexual violence committed on that day formed a “continuum of crimes” that extended into the abduction, transfer, and prolonged captivity of hostages in Gaza.
The investigation documents sexual assault, sexualized torture, and threats that continued for months in captivity. By linking the atrocities of the initial attack to the conditions of captivity, the report argues that the coercive violence was a sustained policy rather than a momentary eruption of chaos.
Former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak, who wrote the foreword to the report, noted that while the archive is not “judicial in the formal sense,” it is an indispensable foundation. He argued that in atrocity cases where victims are dead or unable to speak, a reliable evidentiary archive is the only way to preserve the factual basis for moral and legal judgment.
The Path Toward Accountability
The report concludes that ordinary criminal indictments are insufficient for the scale of these crimes. Instead, it calls for a specialized prosecution framework that draws on the legal precedents set by international tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.
This proposed framework includes:
- The appointment of prosecutors and judges specifically trained in conflict-related sexual violence.
- Trauma-informed procedures to protect survivors and witnesses during testimony.
- International cooperation to track suspects who have fled Israel or returned to Gaza.
The Commission maps responsibility across multiple layers: from the direct perpetrators to the Hamas leadership who planned and ordered the attacks, as well as those who provided the financing, incitement, or material support necessary to carry them out.
Hamas has consistently denied allegations of sexual violence during the October 7 attacks. However, the Commission asserts that the sheer volume of cross-referenced data—from perpetrator-filmed videos to survivor testimony—renders these denials legally unsustainable.
Disclaimer: This article discusses sexual violence and mass atrocities. For those affected by these topics, support is available through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or local mental health crisis resources.
The next phase for the Commission involves presenting this evidentiary model to international legal bodies and state prosecutors to facilitate the issuance of warrants and the commencement of formal trials. The archive now stands as a bridge between the documentation of the past and the pursuit of legal accountability.
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