Andrew Fox: The Dinah Project report
Now, however, the truth is out in a way that can be shared with the world’s general audience. The Dinah Project report provides detailed descriptions and aggregated data that convey the scale and nature of the sexual violence without splashing explicit gore all over social media. It allows us to discuss the facts in a dignified manner, grounded in research and testimony. There is no longer any excuse for journalists, diplomats, or activists to parrot Hamas’s denials. The evidence is meticulously documented by a panel of legal experts and partially funded by the UK government (hardly an Israeli propaganda outfit). This report is the answer to anyone who still sneers “Where’s the evidence?” when confronted with the rapes of 7 October. Here it is, in black and white. Read it and weep (if you have a soul).
This is a personal issue for me, as it should be for anyone with a conscience. I am not Israeli, but as a human being, as a man, as a former soldier and writer about war who stood on that charred ground in the Gaza Periphery and later held back tears talking with survivors and hostage families, I feel an obligation to amplify their truth. We must ensure that the rape and sexual torture of 7 October are recognised globally for what they were: crimes against humanity. The dehumanisation that Hamas practised, in which Jewish civilians were not only to be killed, but degraded most intimately, needs to be utterly condemned by every decent person, no matter their politics on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Now the question is: what will the world do about it? Acknowledging the truth is the first step. Next must come accountability. No Hamas fighter who took part in the 7 October invasion should escape justice, even if their individual rape victim did not survive to testify against them. The patterns and evidence are enough to indict them as a group for sexual war crimes. The report also pushes for international bodies to step up: it calls on the UN Secretary-General to officially blacklist Hamas as an organisation that uses sexual violence as a weapon of war. (Incredibly, that has not happened yet; a scandal in its own right.) It lays out a roadmap for prosecuting these crimes in forums such as the International Criminal Court. In short, it demands justice.
I am outraged that it took this long and this much effort. I am furious at the chorus of denial that forced survivors to scream into a void for months. I take some solace in knowing that the facts have finally pierced the lies of denial. To those who still want to avert their eyes or peddle conspiracy theories: shame on you. To those who bravely gathered this evidence and spoke out, the Dinah Project team, the survivors who broke their silence, the first responders who testified to what they found: thank you. You have done a service not just to Israel, but to humanity.
In the biblical story, Dinah was a woman who survived a horrific rape, and her brothers sought justice (albeit violently) against the perpetrators. Today, the Dinah Project carries on that legacy in a more enlightened way, through truth and law. Now that the truth is in the open, we must not let it be ignored. The innocents of 7 October deserve to be remembered in full: not only how they died, but how they suffered. We owe it to them to be outraged and to ensure that never again will such barbarity be waved away or denied.
The evidence is here; the world must face it. For the sake of our shared humanity, we must hold the perpetrators of these horrors to account, however long it takes. Anything less would be an unforgivable betrayal of the victims and of truth itself.
October 7 and beyond: Hamas's use of sexual violence was systematic weapon of war, report finds
A new report on the systematic use of sexual violence by Hamas terrorists against Israelis in the Gaza border area on October 7, 2023, offers a framework to approach the legal monstrosity of proving and eventually indicting the perpetrators of such crimes.New Dinah Project Report Unveils the Sexual Violence of October 7th & Beyond
The fact that the attacks were carried out by a group driven by a particular ideology is itself enough of a basis for a new evidentiary model, the report suggests, adding that there is legal precedent for this type of model.
This model suggests that when the perpetrators agreed to breach Israel’s borders on that fateful Saturday, they consented to all the crimes that would be carried out. As such, the group as an entity bears responsibility, as do the individuals within, especially given the systematic pattern of sexual violence evidenced on October 7 and by some who did them to captives later on.
The full report can be viewed at www.thedinahproject.org.
The Dinah Project, which authored the report, is comprised of five women, legal and gender experts in their own right, who came together after October 7 to form “the leading resource for recognition and justice for victims of Conflict Related Sexual Violence.”
The report finds that “Hamas used sexual violence as a tactical weapon of war,” a conclusion that carries potentially far-reaching consequences in the international realm. CRSV has been documented in other conflict zones, such as Nigeria and Iraq.
The report, titled “A Quest for Justice: October 7 and Beyond,” was authored by the Dinah Project’s founding members: Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari, Col. (res.) Sharon Zagagi-Pinhas, and retired judge Nava Ben-Or. The team, led by Halperin-Kaddari, analyzed and verified what they could on CRSV from October 7, including incidents of rape, gang rape, torture, and humiliation. Other team members include Eetta Prince-Gibson and Nurit Jacobs-Yinon, the visual editor of the report.
The report documents the widespread and systematic use of sexual violence during the October 7 attacks across at least six different locations: the Nova music festival, Route 232, the Nahal Oz military base, Kibbutz Re’im, Kibbutz Nir Oz, and Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
The main issue that confronted the researchers was gathering the evidence, as “most victims were murdered; survivors and released captives may be too traumatized to come forward and testify against their abusers; and forensic evidence required for criminal convictions is difficult to obtain in crime scenes that remain war zones.”
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).
Evidence Framework
The report draws on 5 main sources:
- Survivor Testimonies: One survivor of attempted rape on October 7, along with 15 returned hostages, either having experienced or witnessed accounts of sexual violence.
- 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.
- First Responder Testimonies: 27 first responders reporting dozens of cases of sexual violence across six locations, with clear evidence of assault on the victims.
- Forensic Evidence: Morgue attendants describing bodies showing signs of sexual violence, with photographic documentation supporting these claims.
- Visual and Audio Documentation: Videos, photographs, and intercepted communications provide further evidence of sexual assault and humiliation during the attacks.
Rape. Genital Mutilation.
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) July 8, 2025
Hamas used sexual violence as a weapon of war - on October 7 and well after.
This was not random. It was systematic. An intentional tactic of terror. A war crime.
The July 8 Dinah Report demands accountability.
We will not stop fighting for… pic.twitter.com/YXpesuK9aH
A message from Michal:
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) July 8, 2025
Six confirmed sites. Dozens of eyewitness accounts. Testimony from 15 courageous returned hostages.
The evidence is undeniable: Hamas terrorists used sexual violence as a systematic weapon of war - on October 7 and beyond.
The Dinah Report published… pic.twitter.com/Ez5QLrL7ku
A message from Michal.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) July 8, 2025
I received the harrowing report from Project Dinah, bravely detailing Hamas’s systemic use of gang rape, forced nudity, sexual torture, and unspeakable abuse on October 7 and continuing in captivity.
The report lays out clear legal evidence: Hamas used… pic.twitter.com/DPOhL0j0rL
