New Dinah Project Report Unveils the Sexual Violence of October 7th & Beyond

The new report released today details the widespread sexual violence committed by Hamas during and after the October 7 massacre, shedding light on survivor testimonies and the scale of the atrocities

**Trigger Warning: Contains content describing sexual assault**

A devastating, groundbreaking report detailing the sexual violence and atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, was released today by The Dinah Project. For the first time, survivors and witnesses are sharing their harrowing accounts of the violence, which included widespread sexual assault.

The report, initially previewed in The Times several days ago, reveals how sexual violence was a key component of the attack, alongside the 1,200 murders perpetrated that day. Compiled by experts in gender-based violence, legal scholars, and human rights advocates, the report provides firsthand accounts of the indescribable crimes that were inflicted, and challenges misconceptions about what really occurred.

Credit: The Dinah Project

Unpacking the Dinah Report

The Dinah Project’s report takes a meticulous approach in documenting the sexual violence committed by Hamas during the October 7 assault. The initiative is named after Dinah, the biblical figure and Patriarch Jacob's only daughter, whose story of the rape she suffered in the Book of Genesis is told without her perspective ever being given a voice. Similarly, the victims of the October 7 massacre remain largely silenced, either through death or by the profound trauma that prevents them from sharing their experiences. The project’s mission is to document, analyze, and seek justice for the gender-based crimes carried out during the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel.

Key Findings

Through comprehensive research and analysis, the report confirms that:

• Sexual violence was rampant and coordinated during the October 7 assault, taking place at minimum 6 different sites, including the Nova music festival, Route 232, Nahal Oz military base, and the Kibbutzim of Re'im, Nir Oz, and Kfar Aza.

• Distinct patterns of sexual abuse emerged, such as victims found partially or fully undressed with their hands bound to trees or poles, gang rapes followed by executions, genital mutilation, and instances of public humiliation.

• Sexual violence persisted during captivity, with several returnees reporting instances of forced nudity, sexual harassment, assaults, and threats of forced marriage.

• Most victims were permanently silenced, killed either during or after the attacks, or remain too traumatized to share their experiences, creating substantial challenges in evidence gathering that necessitate a specialized, context-driven approach to documenting conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV).

Credit: The Dinah Project

Evidence Framework

The report draws on 5 main sources:

1. Survivor Testimonies: One survivor of attempted rape on October 7, along with 15 returned hostages, either having experienced or witnessed accounts of sexual violence.

2. Eyewitness and Earwitness Accounts: At least 17 individuals have provided testimony regarding over 15+ separate incidents of sexual assault, including, individual rapes, gang rapes and mutilation.

3. First Responder Testimonies: 27 first responders reporting dozens of cases of sexual violence across six locations, with clear evidence of assault on the victims.

4. Forensic Evidence: Morgue attendants describing bodies showing signs of sexual violence, with photographic documentation supporting these claims.

5. Visual and Audio Documentation: Videos, photographs, and intercepted communications provide further evidence of sexual assault and humiliation during the attacks.

Credit: The Dinah Project

The atrocities targeted women, girls, and men, with some male hostages also subjected to sexual abuse. The report highlights that these acts of sexual violence were not isolated, but part of a deliberate strategy by Hamas to intimidate, demoralize, and terrorize the Israeli population. The evidence reveals the scale and organization of the violence, showing it was not a random act of chaos, but part of a larger, coordinated assault.

The Challenge of Documentation

One of the report’s most sobering conclusions is the difficulty of documentation. Many victims did not survive, and the chaos of war made forensic investigation challenging. Nonetheless, the consistency of survivor and witness accounts, combined with physical evidence, paints a harrowing but clear picture of the crimes committed.

Credit: The Dinah Project

Debunking Denial and Setting the Record Straight

The Dinah Project’s findings expose a stark and disturbing reality, one that mirrors the horrific sexual violence committed in past conflicts, such as against Yazidi women by ISIS and Tutsi women during the Rwandan genocide. Under international law, sexual violence in armed conflict is unequivocally classified as a war crime and a crime against humanity, especially when it is part of a systematic and widespread attack on civilians.

Yet, despite the overwhelming evidence and ongoing investigations into the October 7 attacks, the international community has failed to take any meaningful action. The report calls for robust legal measures to hold said terrorists accountable and for international recognition of the suffering endured by the victims.

In the words of Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, a leading voice behind the project, “If the standard is to believe survivors and witnesses, there is no excuse to keep quiet. Yet in this case a different standard was employed and the victims were lost in politicization. The fact so many kept silent or even denied what happened was devastating and a grave failure of international human rights.”