Silenced No More Sexual Terror Unveiled: The Untold Atrocities of October 7 and Against Hostages in Captivity is an report issued by the Israeli non-profit Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children in May 2026, documenting sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) conducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023 as well as the continued sexual abuse of hostages throughout their captivity in Gaza. [1] The Civil Commission on October 7th Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children is an independent non-profit created to document and bring to light the Hamas sexual atrocities against women, men, and children.
The report reveals that sexual violence was not random but an integral part of a planned terrorizing strategy by Hamas. It was widespread and consisted of 13 types of violence intended to inflict pain and suffering, including gang rape, sexual torture (burning, gender mutilation and insertion of objects), threats of imposed marriages, postmortem sexual abuse, humiliation, and desecration of bodies, and forced nudity. [2] [3] [4] [5]
The report covers a two year effort in which the Commission reviewed over 10,000 relevant photographs 1800 hours of video footage and transcripts, conducted over 430 interviews/meetings with witnesses, hostages, experts and families and reviewed official records, and other primary materials. A large team of legal experts, researchers, documenters, and trauma experts were involved in the research. The documentation was cross-referenced and mapped and stored online in a digital archive.
It includes testimony from former hostages, among them Romi Gonen, Arbel Yehud, Amit Soussana and Ilana Gritzewsky, who have spoken publicly about their experiences of sexual abuse and gender mistreatment during captivity. According to CNN, the report also documented allegations of sexual abuse involving minors held hostage in Gaza, based on confidential testimony provided to investigators and medical professionals and trauma specialists.
Hon. Irwin Cotler, International Chair, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, wrote the foreword to the report, and stated
“Atrocities do not begin with the machinery of killing. They begin with a failure to believe victims.” [6]
The study concludes that the sexual and gender-based violence deployed was a key strategy of the October 7th attacks and their aftermath. It took place at multiple locations and not only on October 7 but during abduction, transfer, and captivity, and including extreme pain, humiliation, and cruelty.
The researchers of the Commission submitted a letter to UN Women in October 2023 [7] regarding the atrocities and they submitted a preliminary legal report to the United Nations, later that month.