Israeli officials condemned a New York Times report alleging that Israel systematically carried out rape and othre sexual abuse against Palestinians who came into contact with Israeli soldiers, settlers, Shin Bet interrogators, and especially prison guards. The NYT\u2019s piece also stated there was no evidence that Israeli leaders ordered rapes, citing public accounts from organizations such as the UN and Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.<\/p>\n

The article backdrop is an investigation by an Israeli commission into allegations of sexual violence during Hamas\u2019s Oct. 7, 2023 massacre of Israeli civilians, based on thousands of visual materials and hundreds of interviews. That commission concluded that sexual and gender-based violence<\/a> was central to both the Oct. 7 attacks and the captivity of hostages, and it described the assaults as coordinated.<\/p>\n

In response to the NYT report, Israeli Foreign Ministry officials and other critics accused the newspaper of publishing \u201cblood libel\u201d style misinformation<\/a> and claimed it was part of an anti-Israel campaign. They also pointed to the timing of the NYT reaction relative to reports they said were already documented elsewhere, including coverage of the commission\u2019s findings. <\/p>\n