EN / HE
Silenced No More
After a two-year independent investigation, the Civil Commission reaches a clear conclusion:
Sexual and gender-based violence was systematic, widespread, and integral to the October 7 attack and their aftermath.
Why This Report Matters
This report is the first to systematically assemble, verify, and analyze the evidence on sexual and gender-based violence during the attacks and in captivity, drawing on a uniquely constructed and independently secured war crimes archive.
What emerges is not a collection of isolated incidents, but a coherent and repeated pattern of violence, carried out across multiple locations and phases, from the initial attacks, through abduction and transfer, to prolonged captivity and the deliberate digital circulation of abuse.
For the first time, these crimes can be understood in their full scope, structure, and operational logic and documented in a way that establishes a clear foundation for accountability.
Across homes, roads, shelters, the Nova music festival, military bases, and during captivity in Gaza, Hamas and its collaborators used sexual violence as a widespread and systematic tactic. These were not isolated incidents. They followed recurring, organized patterns across multiple locations and phases of the attack, including during abduction, transfer, and prolonged captivity.
About the Report
Silenced No More presents the most comprehensive evidentiary record to date of the sexual atrocities committed on October 7 and during captivity.
Developed over two years, the report is based on a uniquely constructed and independently secured war crimes archive. It provides the first systematic, case-based account of these crimes, tracing sexual violence across the full continuum of events, from the attacks themselves, through abduction and transfer, to prolonged captivity and the continued digital circulation of abuse.
The findings establish that sexual violence was not incidental, it was deliberate, coordinated, and embedded in the attack itself.
The Evidence
The Commission’s findings are grounded in an unprecedented body of reviewed documentation:
-
Over 10,000 photographs and video segments
-
More than 1,800 hours of visual material
-
430+ testimonies and interviews with survivors, witnesses, released hostages, experts, and family members
-
Victims from 52 nationalities, in addition to Israeli victims
Because the Commission began collecting evidence immediately after the attacks, the archive preserves materials that are no longer publicly available, including original footage, communications, and testimonies that were later removed or lost.
All materials were systematically logged, coded, and cross-referenced across time and location, and analyzed using geolocation-supported datasets, expert consultation, and interdisciplinary review. The investigation was conducted in accordance with internationally recognized standards, applying trauma-informed and survivor-centered methodologies guided by the principle of “do no harm.”
This rigorous approach enabled the Commission not only to document individual incidents, but to identify patterns, reconstruct events, and establish a coherent evidentiary record that could not previously be seen in its entirety.
Systematic Patterns of Violence
The investigation identified 13 recurring forms of sexual and gender-based violence across multiple sites.
These include:
-
Rape and gang rape
-
Sexual torture and mutilation
-
Forced nudity
-
Executions linked to sexual violence
-
Postmortem sexual abuse
-
Sexual assaults carried out in the presence of family members
The repetition of these patterns demonstrates that the crimes were not isolated acts of brutality, but part of a broader operational method used during the attack and its aftermath.
In documented cases, victims were abused in front of relatives. In at least one case, family members were coerced into acts of sexual violence against one another.
The Commission defines this as kinocidal sexual violence, violence deliberately designed to destroy family structures by weaponizing familial bonds.
Weaponization of Visibility
A defining feature of the October 7 atrocities was the deliberate use of digital media as part of the violence itself.
Perpetrators recorded, livestreamed, and distributed acts of abuse and torture through social media and victims’ own digital accounts. In many cases, families first learned of the fate of their loved ones through images and videos sent by perpetrators.
These acts were designed not only to harm victims, but to terrorize families, communities, and society at large, transforming individual acts of violence into instruments of psychological warfare.
The continued circulation of this material prolongs trauma, undermines recovery, and extends the impact of the attacks far beyond the original acts.
Legal Findings
Based on this body of evidence, the Commission concludes that these acts constitute:
-
War crimes
-
Crimes against humanity
-
Genocidal acts under international law
The report further identifies conduct amounting to torture, sexual slavery, persecution, and terrorism-linked sexual and gender-based violence.
The scale, coordination, and repetition of the conduct demonstrate a widespread and systematic attack against civilians, in which sexual violence was deliberately used as a method of terror.
Accountability
The report provides a clear evidentiary and legal roadmap for prosecution.
It outlines pathways to hold accountable:
-
Direct perpetrators
-
Those who planned, ordered, or enabled the crimes
-
Actors who facilitated or amplified the violence
It calls for specialized prosecutorial mechanisms grounded in gender competence, survivor-centered approaches, and trauma-informed practices, and emphasizes the need for coordinated international action.
Why This Matters
Many victims did not survive. Others continue to live with severe physical and psychological trauma.
This report serves both a legal and historical function:
-
Preserving evidence
-
Establishing a definitive record
-
Supporting future investigations and prosecutions
At its core, it is an act of documentation, accountability, and remembrance, ensuring that these crimes are neither denied, minimized, nor forgotten, and that those affected are silenced no more.
“For two years, we have listened to survivors, examined the evidence, and confronted material that is often beyond comprehension. This report establishes that sexual violence was not incidental — it was systematic, deliberate, and embedded in the attack itself. Documenting these crimes is essential to give voice to victims and ensure their stories are not erased.”
— Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy, Founder and Chair, The Civil Commission
We dedicate this report to all the victims and survivors of the sexual atrocities committed on October 7 and in captivity, those whose names appear within these pages and those who remain in the shadows but are no less present in our hearts.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former Secretary of State
“History has shown us that sexual violence in war is too often hidden, minimized, or erased from the historical record. This report is an act of witness against that erasure. It gives voice to victims and survivors, documents the systematic nature of these crimes, and deepens our understanding of the profound harm they inflict - not only on individuals, but on families, communities, and future generations. Its contribution to justice and historical memory will endure.”
Sheryl Sandberg, Founder, Lean In
“When I first learned what happened to women and girls on October 7 and in the months of captivity that followed, I could not understand how so much of the world remained silent. This report refuses that silence. Drawing on more than 430 testimonies, over 1,800 hours of visual analysis, and thirteen documented patterns of violence, it is the most comprehensive evidence assembled to date, and the foundation on which accountability must now be built. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Elkayam-Levy and the Civil Commission for the rigor and moral courage this work required. The victims were never silent — the world was. This report ensures that can never be said again.”
Ambassador Isabelle Rome, Ambassador at-Large for Human Rights responsible for international issues relating to the Holocaust, looted property, and remembrance
"The deliberate use of sexual violence in conflict is among the gravest violations of human rights. This report contributes to the indispensable work of documentation, recognition, and transmission, ensuring that these crimes are neither denied nor forgotten, and that the pursuit of justice remains a collective international duty. In the name of truth and human dignity."
Prof. David Crane, Founding Chief Prosecutor, UN Special Court for Sierra Leone
“In the dirty little wars of the 21st Century women and children pay a particularly heavy price. International humanitarian law is ignored as combatants intentionally target civilians and civilian objects. The rule of law must be seen as the cornerstone for international peace and security”
Prof. Yuval Shany, Hersch Lauterpacht Chair in Public International Law Professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Senior Fellow, Israel Democracy Institute, former member of the UN Human Rights Committee
“The Civil Commission’s report describes acts that are often described as unspeakable acts, not only because of their brutality, but because they challenge our capacity to discuss them and to fully acknowledge them. The seriousness and rigor of the work underlying this report, reflected in the careful collection, preservation, curation and analysis of a vast evidentiary record, lend a particular weight to its findings. By documenting patterns of sexual violence that were systematic and embedded in the October 7 attacks and subsequent periods of captivity, the report gives general shape and form to crimes that might otherwise remain fragmented, minimized, or denied. In doing so, it marks an important step in ensuring that these heinous acts are neither obscured from the historical record nor excluded from our moral reckoning. It also strengthens the factual basis for their recognition and prosecution under domestic and international law.”
Prof. Mukesh Kapila, former Special Adviser to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Professor Emeritus, Global Health & Humanitarian Affairs
"The frenzy of sexual violence unleashed by Hamas and its collaborators in its 7 October attack on Israel plunged unfathomable depths of brutality and depravity. More striking still are the muted responses - and even denials - that followed. That is why the Commission has done a great service in compiling this strongly evidenced report as a permanent testament of what happened. That is important for the painfully slow process of accountability and justice. But even more for the unfiltered understanding of the horrors that happened for us and our successor generations, without which there is no chance to make peace, whenever that moment arrives."
Alice Wairimu Nderitu, former Under-Secretary General and Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide
"Rigorous documentation is the cornerstone of atrocity crimes prevention and the first step toward breaking the cycle of impunity. By meticulously preserving the evidentiary record of the sexual and gender-based crimes of October 7th, the Civil Commission has created a significant resource for international justice. This report serves as a stark reminder of our shared obligation to confront the weaponization of sexual violence and to ensure that such systematic patterns are recognized, archived, and never ignored by the global community."
Prof. Nienke Grossman, Professor of Law, Co-Director, Center for International and Comparative Law, University of Baltimore Law School
"This report meticulously and painstakingly documents the horrendous sexual and gender-based violence that occurred on October 7, 2023, and during captivity, and it lays the groundwork for much-needed accountability. As the report eloquently states, “sexual violence, whether inflicted against women, men or children, is a grave violation that must never be normalized and must be met with meaningful accountability.”
Ms. Noëlle Lenoir, Former Justice on the French Constitutional Court and former French Minister for Europe
“The systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war defies the core of international law and human dignity. By establishing a rigorous evidentiary record of the atrocities of October 7th, the Civil Commission ensures these crimes cannot be denied. This documentation serves as an essential foundation for accountability and a necessary step in defending the universal values that underpin our global and European institutions.”
Prof. William Burke-White, University of Pennsylvania
"This report is a profoundly important contribution to documenting the atrocities of October 7 and their aftermath. By combining careful factual investigation with rigorous legal analysis, it preserves the historical record, honors the experiences of victims and survivors, and helps lay essential groundwork for accountability. Particularly powerful is its development of the concept of ‘kinocide’ to capture forms of violence aimed at the destruction of family bonds and intimate human ties."
François Zimeray, Former French Ambassador for Human Rights; Founding Partner, Zimeray & Finelle
“This report constitutes an essential contribution to the documentation of grave crimes under international law. Its rigorous work ensures that the voices of victims are preserved, and that truth remains the foundation upon which accountability must stand.”
Dr. Stephen Smith, MBE, Executive Director Emeritus of USC Shoah Foundation
"To document is to resist erasure. Testimony is a moral act, and an act of profound courage. By documenting these crimes with rigor and humanity, individual suffering is transformed into collective memory, and memory into personal and social responsibility. Through its searing truth testimony aids justice, builds empathy, and shapes how future generations understand that sexual violence happens to real people."
Dr. Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, expert in law and technology, Senior Fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute
"This report exposes a critical dimension of the October 7 attacks: sexual and gender-based violence as a structured component of a broader architecture of terror. It shows how violence operated through relationships, weaponizing intimacy, family bonds, and human vulnerability in ways that reflect a broader “kinocidal logic.” At the same time, it reveals how digital environments were active components in both the design and amplification of harm, enabling a “theater of terror” in which visibility itself became a weapon. In a landscape often framed around mis- and disinformation, the report sharpens our understanding of how mal-information operates as a vector of violence. By integrating rigorous documentation with legal analysis, the report translates these patterns into a concrete framework for accountability and prosecution, laying the groundwork for addressing responsibility not only of perpetrators, but also across the digital infrastructures through which these crimes were staged, circulated, and intensified. In doing so, it should call for a necessary shift: confronting these crimes requires moving beyond the boundaries of criminal law and international humanitarian law alone, toward a broader framework of responsibility that includes technology platforms and digital intermediaries."
Mr. Rahm Emanuel, former White House Chief of Staff
"To those who denied the sexual violence on October 7 who justify what happened on October 7 or make excuses I have something for your summer reading list. Read it! You may actually learn something and be a better person for it. Facts are a stubborn thing."
Rabbi Angela W. Buchdahl, Senior Rabbi, Central Synagogue
"The Civil Commission's report is an act of moral witness. Through meticulous documentation, the report gives voice to victims and survivors, safeguards the truth against denial and erasure, and strengthens the pursuit of justice. In the Jewish tradition, memory is a sacred responsibility, and a command. This report calls all people of conscience to listen, to remember, and to act."
Ms. Roya Hakakian, Writer and Cofounder of Iran Human Rights Documentation Center
"What the Civil Commission on Oct 7 Crimes has done is what Jews have done throughout the centuries in the aftermath of tragedy—Bring insight to anguish to light a path through it. In this report, the Commission confronts one of the most silenced forms of violence: the use of sexual brutality as a weapon of war. By naming it, documenting it, and refusing its erasure, they restore dignity to victims and inscribe their suffering into the moral record. In doing so, they connect these crimes to a broader human story—echoing the experiences of women and families in Bosnia, in Cambodia, in Iran, and beyond—who endured similar violations in silence. What was once unspeakable is now named, and what was once isolated is now recognized as part of a shared history that demands justice.”
Carol Ann Schwartz, Hadassah National President
“When Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, they did the unthinkable. They systematically weaponized sexual violence against women, girls and men and the hostages Hamas kidnapped and held captive. We are grateful to the Civil Commission and Dr. Cochav Elkayam-Levy for their monumental accomplishment in meticulously reviewing and recording the evidence of Hamas' crimes against humanity and advancing justice for the victims. It is critical that we demand the world’s leaders hold Hamas accountable — now, not at some indeterminant time in the future.”
Irit Kohn, President Emeritus, The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists
"This report is a critical contribution to the international legal record. It establishes facts with clarity and rigor, documenting the use of sexual violence not as isolated acts, but as part of a broader strategy that may constitute the gravest crimes under international law. Such documentation is indispensable to ensuring accountability. It lays an essential evidentiary foundation for future legal proceedings and for the pursuit of justice across jurisdictions."
Mr. Jay Rosenzweig, CEO of Rosenzweig & Company; author of the Annual Rosenzweig; Report on women; and Honorary Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights
"This report represents an essential act of documentation, ensuring that the truth of these crimes is preserved with rigor, care, and integrity. By establishing a clear evidentiary record, it affirms a fundamental principle: that in the face of profound violence, facts must be documented and accountability must follow. The work of the Commission ensures that the voices of victims and survivors are neither denied nor forgotten, and that a foundation exists for justice to be pursued."
Ms. Raheel Raza, President, Council for Muslims Against Antisemitism
"Sexual violence in conflict is among the gravest betrayals of our shared humanity. To document these crimes with honesty and courage is not only an act of justice for the victims, but a moral duty to history."
Ms. Miriam Rocah, Fordham Law Adjunct Professor, former district attorney and federal prosecutor
"The Civil Commission’s report is an extraordinary and essential undertaking. As a prosecutor, I know that justice begins with the meticulous and fearless collection of evidence. This report provides the rigorous documentation necessary to ensure that the sexual atrocities of October 7 are not only recognized by the world but met with the full force of legal accountability. This report is a vital tool for justice."
Ms. Nazanin Afshin-Jam Mackay, Founding Member, Iranian Justice Collective, Canada
"This report brings to light a devastating truth - the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. By documenting these crimes with clarity and courage, it not only honors the victims, but also strengthens the global fight for justice and accountability. From Iran to Bosnia to Yazidi communities and beyond, women’s bodies have too often been battlegrounds. This report ensures that these crimes are seen, named, and cannot be denied."
Peter Van Praagh, President, HFX, Washington, DC
"Everyone everywhere working to advance justice should consider this report and its important recommendations for the international community."
Anila Ali, President of AMMWEC
“Hamas committed atrocities on October 7 that must be written into the darkest pages of human history as one of the worst examples of barbarism against women and innocent people. As a Muslim woman, as an American, and as the leader of the first Muslim women’s civil rights organization in America, I bear witness with absolute moral clarity: Hamas’s crimes were not an act of resistance, but acts of evil, sexual brutality, torture, humiliation, and murder against the people of Israel. The crimes Hamas inflicted upon women were an assault on human dignity itself and a stain on the conscience of the world. No cause, no grievance, and no ideology can ever justify such savagery. We must name Hamas, we must tell the truth, and we must ensure that these horrors are never denied, never erased, and never forgotten.”
Dorothy Tananbaum
"Excellent work… a labor of love, professionalism, and courage."
Dr. Lavi Shay, Chairperson of the Association of Israeli Archivists
"The Civil Commission has taken upon itself a difficult and harrowing mission: to expose the Hamas SGBV (sexual and gender-based violence) cruel and evil strategy, and to document its crimes in a systematic and impartial manner. To ensure that the suffering endured by the victims will not be denied, erased, or forgotten and that the due justice will be done. At the core of archival practice lies a commitment to accuracy, accountability, preservation and access to truth. This report and its archive exemplify these principles, ensuring that critical evidence and testimony are responsibly documented and safeguarded for future generations, scholarship, and justice processes.”
Rabbi Liz P. G. Hirsch, CEO, Women of Reform Judaism
"To remain silent in the face of conflict-related sexual violence is to fail our collective humanity. We bear a moral obligation to listen to the survivors, honor their truths, and demand justice. This report is a vital act of bearing witness and a call to the world to ensure that such atrocities are never met with indifference."
Rachel Foster, Co-Founder and President, World Without Exploitation
"The findings of the Civil Commission are a harrowing but necessary call to the conscience of the international community. We must have the courage to name these atrocities and the rigor to document them as the Civil Commission has painstakingly done. This report stands as a vital shield against denial and a critical step toward ensuring that sexual violence is met with absolute accountability rather than impunity and silence."
Major General (Res.) Doron Almog, Chairman of the Executive, The Jewish Agency for Israel
“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.” (Deuteronomy 4:9). The documentation within the Civil Commission's report is a testament to an endless pain. Thank you for carrying the torch of memory on behalf of us all.”
Ms. Viviane Teitelbaum, Senator and Author; President, European Council of the International Council of Women (ECICW); President of the Network of Women Parliamentarians of the APF
"As we confront the harrowing reality of the sexual and gender-based crimes documented in this report, our duty is clear: we must listen to survivors and uphold the truth. Sexual violence in conflict is not incidental — it is often used as a weapon, and too often met with silence or impunity. By documenting the atrocities committed against victims of all ages and genders, the Civil Commission ensures these crimes cannot be denied or erased. A feminist perspective demands that justice be pursued consistently and universally, without hierarchy among victims. I stand in full solidarity with the pursuit of justice for every life shattered by these acts."
Ms. Hagit Pe'er, President of Na'amat International
"Standing with women means standing for truth, justice, and human dignity—especially when women are subjected to the gravest forms of violence. This report is a vital act of witness and accountability. It gives voice to victims, preserves their stories against denial and erasure, and reminds the world that violence against women in conflict can never be ignored."
Ms. Moran Zer Katzenstein, founder and head of Bonot Alternativa, Israel’s women’s protest movement
“I have witnessed this work from its very beginning - its burden, its difficulty, and its unwavering commitment to the victims. From the very first days after October 7, when so many still could not grasp the scale of what had happened, this work insisted on doing what history too often fails to do: document, preserve, and tell the truth about violence against women. In times when silence, denial, and indifference threaten justice, giving voice to victims becomes an act of resistance. It ensures that sexual violence can never be normalized, excused, or forgotten.”
Sharon S. Nazarian Ph.D., President, Younes & Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation
“This report is a profoundly important contribution to documenting the atrocities of October 7 and their aftermath. By combining careful factual investigation with rigorous legal analysis, it preserves the historical record, honors the experiences of victims and survivors, and helps lay essential groundwork for accountability. Particularly powerful is its development of the concept of ‘kinocide’ to capture forms of violence aimed at the destruction of family bonds and intimate human ties.”
Dr. Leyla Ferman
"Having worked on related contexts of conflict-related atrocities, I deeply value rigorous documentation of sexual violence and the role of survivor-centered testimony in both historical record and accountability efforts."
Adv. Gali Etzion, Head of the Legal Division, Na'amat
"Where law seeks accountability, documentation is its foundation. This report lays a substantial and rigorous evidentiary basis for understanding the scale, pattern, and severity of the crimes committed. In doing so, it moves us closer to justice, not only through legal processes, but through the recognition of harms too often denied or dismissed. For victims, recognition is the beginning of justice."
Rabbi Tamar Elad-Appelbaum, Founder of The Zion Community of Jerusalem, Voice of the People Global Jewish Council of Israel’s Office of the President, the Vatican Global Women Interrelgious Network, Board member of the Civil Commission
"Where others looked away, the Civil Commission chose to look directly — and to document what it saw with unflinching courage and profound care. The work of recording these crimes is not merely historical; it is an act of the highest moral responsibility, demanding that every testimony, every detail, every scar be held with precision and compassion. To document trauma at this depth is to walk alongside the unbearable — to insist that pain be named without being exploited, that horror be recorded without being reduced. This report is a human declaration to the world that refuses to let evil go unnamed, and that the holy sacred work of bearing witness is itself the first human act of ensuring it never happens again."