UN report suggests ample evidence of patterns of sexual violence in conflict by Israeli forces

As the Secretary-General releases his annual report on sexual violence in conflict, covering January to December 2025, the UN cites credible patterns of harrowing abuse, denouncing Israeli actions against Palestinian detainees “as indicative of a broader pattern extending over prolonged periods.”

According to the report, which also holds the Russian Federation accountable for blatant contempt of human rights toward Ukrainian forces, Israeli forces engaged in documented patterns of sexual violence against Palestinian detainees in both the Occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Both Palestinian enclaves have been host to countless documented and verified violations consisting of “rape, including with objects, gang rape, attempted rape, physical violence to the genitals, instances of targeted shooting of the genitals, touching of breasts and genitals, strip and cavity searches conducted without apparent security justification, forced nudity and threats of rape,” the report said.

The UN report identified the perpetrators as members of the Israeli military, security forces, and prison services, collectively contributing to the rapid dehumanization and systematic degradation of Palestinian captives.

Illicit and punitive measures undertaken by the identified Israeli authorities were previously labeled in the Secretary-General’s 2025 report, documenting instances of sexual violence in conflict between January and December 2024, as “on notice”, monitored for potentially satisfying responsibility “for patterns of rape or other forms of sexual violence.”

This year’s report holds no remorse in fully condemning Israel’s continuous violations as devoid of any legal or morally just treatment of Palestinian prisoners and other affected victims, with reputable evidence from the report suggesting that Israeli authorities were found coercing Palestinian victims into purposefully withholding evidence on the violations they endured. Non-compliance, according to the report’s findings, would have been met with “threats” and other preventive measures.

The UN verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence affecting 14 men, seven women, nine boys, and one girl from Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Thirteen cases occurred during 2025, while 18 others dated back to 2023 and 2024.

The report additionally outlines the multiplicity of settings hosting such deplorable actions. This includes detention and interrogation at several locations, including the Sde Teiman military camp and Etzion detention center, as well as prisons including Megiddo, Ofer, Ramla, Hasharon, Shatta, Nafha, and Damon, as well as the Gush Etzion police station.

The report also documented abuses committed at military checkpoints and during Israeli military incursions in the decrepit Gaza enclave, noting that journalists and human rights defenders were among the non-Palestinian victims subject to such treatment.

The report was particularly vivid in its clear distinction of gender-based sexual violence, citing repeated instances of differing sexual violence for both men and women.

Sexual violence against female Palestinian detainees primarily consisted of “threats of rape, forced nudity, unwanted touching and degrading searches without justification.” Men and boys, on the other hand, were “subjected to rape, attempted rape and genital violence, with five victims suffering severe injuries lasting days or weeks, in some cases without receiving medical treatment.”

The findings, relevant to the sexual violence committed by the aforementioned Israeli authorities, also mentioned the sheer lack of legal accountability for perpetrators, reinforcing the sentiment that a climate of impunity has nullified retribution. Such development to circumvent accountability has been facilitated by both state and municipal Israeli authorities, where “all charges against the soldiers were dropped in March 2026.” Such an evident attempt to curtail justice, the UN warns, entrenches sexual violence as a normalized occurrence, circumscribing international norms and ethical standards in Israeli society.

The report, which was met with rejection by the Israeli government, was formally addressed today by Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. Patten underscored that while the report has gained a level of media traction “for its focus on two countries”, the findings cover “21 conflict-related zones.”

Special Representative Patten highlighted that last year, while she had made a trip to Israel following the Secretary-General’s 2025 report on sexual violence in conflict, she had communicated to Israeli officials on “preventive measures” to be taken in the treatment of Palestinian detainees. Over a year later, where Israel has now been blacklisted for clear violations and sexual misconduct, Special Representative Patten contends that she has still not heard from relevant Israeli authorities on the “implementation of such preventive measures.”

Such needed reform, “calling for the immediate cessation of sexual violence and the unconditional access of all relevant UN entities for unimpeded investigation,” has not been abided by, met instead by repeated appeals attacking the credibility of the report as a politically motivated gesture aimed at demeaning the purported legitimacy of the current Israeli government.

Spearheading such staunch criticisms is Danny Danon, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations. Danon has rejected the content of the report as “outrageous”, adding that “The secretary-general and his team continue to spread lies against Israel. To put Hamas terrorists and us on the same list, that’s unacceptable.”

“We are done with this secretary-general,” Israeli ambassador Danny Danon added in a video posted on X on Thursday, a statement which was supported by Oren Marmorstein, a spokesperson for the Israeli foreign ministry. Also taking to X, Marmorstein said, “The shameful and absurd UN decision to include Israeli entities in the annex to the CRSV (conflict-related sexual violence) report is further proof of the UN’s true nature: a politicised and corrupt organisation that has abandoned its founding principles and systematically targets Israel as its primary mission.”

While the report continues to be labeled by relevant Israeli officials as ignominious toward the UN’s international reputation, Patten defended the findings as “verified by the relevant UN agencies”, and “disputing” in both its humanitarian implications and blatant disregard for international law.

“Perpetrators”, she said, “are emboldened by impunity”, telling members of the press that dwindling financial capacity, coupled with a lack of Israeli cooperation, has stifled the ability to comprehensively probe and extricate such victims from patterns of explicit sexual violence.