A report released by The Dinah Project on Tuesday that seeks to “set the record straight” on the assaults that occurred during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on southern Israel found that the terror group systematically used sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war, acts that constitute crimes against humanity. The study, which was led by legal and feminist experts and has been compiled into a book, offers a new evidentiary and legal framework to prosecute such crimes as its authors call on international bodies to hold the perpetrators accountable.

The 80-page report, “A Quest for Justice: October 7 and Beyond,” is described by its authors as the most comprehensive legal analysis to date of the sexual and gender-based crimes committed during the-Hamas led attacks, and afterwards against hostages in captivity. It argues that the acts of sexual violence committed constitute crimes against humanity and that the acts were not isolated but deliberate, widespread and systematic. The authors call for the development of a new legal protocol to handle cases of sexual violence in armed conflicts.

The report was presented on Tuesday to Israeli First Lady Michal Herzog at a press event at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. “The report presents the truth as it is — shocking, painful, but necessary. On behalf of all those who were affected, we are committed to continuing to fight until their cry is heard everywhere and until justice is done,” Herzog said.

“I read the report with an aching heart — as a woman, as a mother, as an Israeli,” Herzog continued. “This document, which is based on an unprecedented legal foundation, should be read from every stage in the world. It poses a response to the ongoing distortion of silence, denial or incitement — and replaces them with facts, data and a clear call to recognize sexual violence as a crime against humanity — and to bring those responsible to justice.”

The report was co-authored by three senior lawyers from the Ruth and Emanuel Rackman Center at Bar-Ilan University: professor Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, Judge (ret.) Nava Ben-Or and Att. Col. (res.) Sharon Zagagi-Pinhas, the IDF’s former chief military prosecutor. Project members also include journalist Eetta Prince-Gibson and filmmaker Nurit Jacobs-Yinon. The project was partially funded by the U.K. government.

The Dinah Project offers a legal strategy to prosecute conflict-related sexual violence, proposing a framework that acknowledges that individual victim testimony is often unavailable in conflict settings and expands the evidentiary model to recognize the probative value of eyewitness and earwitness accounts, res gestae statements (those made contemporaneously with an event) and circumstantial evidence.

Among the report’s key findings was that sexual violence occurred across at least six locations, including the Nova music festival, Route 232, the Nahal Oz military base, and the border communities of Re’im, Nir Oz and Kfar Aza.

The report notes that most victims were either “permanently silenced ” — murdered during or after the assaults — or remain too traumatized to discuss their experiences, creating unique evidentiary challenges. 

Evidence includes accounts from one  survivor of an attempted rape on Oct. 7; from 15  returned hostages who experienced or witnessed sexual violence; at least 17 witnesses  describing at least 15 separate incidents of sexual assault, including gang rapes, rape, and mutilation; eyewitness and earwitness testimonies; testimonies from 27 first responders describing dozens of cases that showed clear signs of sexual violence; morgue reports, which include full body photographs revealing several cases of gun shots into the genitalia; visual and audio documentation; and photographs and intercepted communications showing sexual humiliation and assault.

The report identifies recurring patterns: victims found bound and partially or fully naked with their hands tied, often to structures such as trees or poles; evidence of gang rapes followed by executions; genital mutilation and public humiliation. The report also documents ongoing sexual abuse in captivity, including forced nudity, sexual harassment, sexual humiliation and threats of forced marriage.

The authors call for all individuals who participated in the attacks to be held responsible, underlining that, “From all available sources, it is evident that the attackers were motivated by an extreme ideology based on explicit genocidal intent and fundamentally driven by a complete and utter dehumanization of the Jewish people.” 

Halperin-Kaddari said in a statement, “Our goal is to show how leaders and perpetrators of crimes can be brought to justice even when there is no direct evidence against each of them individually. We say this in a clear voice: sexual violence in conflict is a weapon. It is not random, it is not directed only at the individual and it is not done without direction from above. It is time for the international community to treat this phenomenon as such.”

The report calls on the U.N. to list Hamas on the secretary-general’s blacklist of groups that weaponize sexual violence, as a critical step toward establishing international accountability. To achieve that, Halperin-Kaddari told eJewishPhilanthropy, Dinah Project members plan to amplify their message by presenting the report at the highest forums in international organizations and institutions, including the U.N. headquarters in New York and in Geneva, the European Union and the European Council.

The authors also call on the Israeli prosecution authorities to ensure that sexual violence crimes are addressed through criminal charges.

In March 2024, a report released by a U.N. mission of the special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, found that there were “reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence — including rape and gang-rape — occurred across multiple locations of Israel and the Gaza periphery during the attacks on 7 October 2023” and also found “convincing information that sexual violence was committed against hostages, and has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may still be ongoing against those in captivity.” In its arrest warrants for Hamas leaders, the International Criminal Court has also noted the use of rape and sexual violence against hostages.

The Dinah Project urged the international community to adopt its framework in future prosecutions of wartime sexual violence, whether through criminal prosecutions, civil proceedings or international tribunals. 

Halperin-Kaddari told eJP on Tuesday that another overarching aim of the report is to “set the historical record straight.”

“Whenever this subject of this most horrific crime against humanity is mentioned, there will be mention of ISIS against the Yazidi women and Boko Haram against the girls and women in Nigeria, and Russia and Ukraine, and then Hamas in Be’eri and the Nova music festival — in one line, in one breath,” she said. “We are on this long and sad list of conflict-related sexual violence.”

The Dinah Project intends to continue its research as additional testimonies are made; Halperin-Kaddari noted that in recent weeks, released hostages have gradually spoken about their ordeals from captivity. 

In addition, she said, “we have a research plan to delve more deeply into Hamas ideology and indoctrination as it is certainly related to the intentional to the genocidal intent, which is a very crucial element in establishing the argument that this was concerted attack with premeditation of usage of sexual violence as a weapon of war.”