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New bombshell UN report accuses Israel of sexual and gender-based violence against Palestinians

A new UN report found that Israel carried out “genocidal acts” by deliberately targeting fertility facilities with the intention of preventing births among Palestinians in Gaza. The report also detailed systematic sexual abuse against Palestinians.

Mondoweiss Palestine BureauMarch 14, 2025

UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry press conference on March 13, 2025, Geneva. (Screenshot from UN Human Rights Council Youtube Channel)

A new report released by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory accuses Israel of systematically employing sexual, reproductive, and gender-based violence against Palestinians during its assault on Gaza. The findings, presented alongside public hearings in Geneva, also highlight the systematic destruction of reproductive healthcare facilities in Gaza and describe a “broader strategy to undermine Palestinian self-determination.” The report finds that Israel’s conduct has amounted to carrying out “genocidal acts” under international law, in addition to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

According to the report, these crimes include forced nudity, sexual harassment, and other forms of inhumane treatment carried out under orders or with implicit approval from senior Israeli military and civilian leaders. Most importantly, the report concluded that the deliberate destruction of reproductive healthcare facilities, combined with restrictions on humanitarian assistance, were measures “intended to prevent births among Palestinians in Gaza,” which the report called “a genocidal act under the Rome Statute and Genocide Convention.” The Commission added that “this was done with the intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza as a group” and that “this is the only inference that could reasonably be drawn from the acts in question.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the report as “antisemitic” and called its findings “lies,” noting that “it is not a coincidence” that Israel withdrew a month ago from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which he also called “antisemitic.” The UNHRC, based in Geneva, is the international body that mandated the Commission of Inquiry which produced the report.

Issued on Thursday, the UN report is part of an ongoing investigation into alleged human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The Commission has previously reported on issues such as the blockade of Gaza and the impact of military operations on Palestinian civilians. This latest report shifts focus to sexual and gender-based violence, presenting new evidence that these practices form a deliberate element of Israel’s assault on Gaza.

During public hearings held in Geneva on March 11 – March 12, the Commission heard harrowing testimonies from victims, witnesses, and medical professionals. Survivors described acts of violence, including sexual assault and the targeting of maternity wards and reproductive health clinics. The report notes that these violations not only cause immediate physical and psychological harm but also have long-term effects on the mental health and fertility prospects of Palestinians as a people. 

Sexual violence and preventing Palestinian births

The report emphasized the case of the Basma IVF center, the main reproduction center in Gaza shelled by Israeli forces in December 2023, destroying 4,000 embryos as well as 1,000 sperm samples and unfertilized eggs, which constituted all the genetic material in the center. The Basma IVF center served 2,000 to 3,000 patients per month, carrying out 70 to 100 monthly procedures. The analysis in the report pointed to a deliberate targeting of the center by Israeli forces, with “no credible evidence” that it represented a military target.

The report also pointed out several cases of denying access to reproductive healthcare through siege and the destruction of roads, as in the case of the maternity section of Al-Awda Hospital, the largest maternity ward in northern Gaza. The hospital ran out of fuel for its generators while overcrowded with 15,577 maternity patients from October 7 to December 23, 2023 with 75 beds. In late February 2024, the hospital partially halted its operations due to the lack of fuel. Doctors reported to the commission that some pregnant women had to walk up to four kilometers to reach the hospital, that the healthcare at the hospital had deteriorated due to the siege, and that damaged equipment, including incubators, could not be repaired due to the lack of repair parts.

Sexual violence was also documented in the report, including forced nudity during mass arrests of both men and women. In one of the reported testimonies, a woman was quoted as saying that Israeli soldiers detained her while forcing her children to walk away on their own and then ordered her to remove her clothes for searching, in front of male soldiers.

In another testimony, a group of men and women were forced to remove their clothes for searches, while soldiers mocked the men for not being able to intervene to stop the strip-search of women. Both testimonies were of incidents on the Salah al-Din road running through the length of the Gaza Strip. The report also included testimonies of sexual violence during detention and interrogation at the notorious Sde Teiman base in the Naqab desert.

‘Culture of impunity’

The report criticizes the “culture of impunity” that allows such violations to persist. It points to failures within Israel’s military justice system to prosecute or convict perpetrators, sending a clear message of tolerance for these crimes. The Commission has called for accountability through international mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court, and has urged national courts to exercise universal jurisdiction to uphold justice and provide redress for victims.

The report’s findings paint a grim picture of the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel’s 15-month-long assault on the Gaza Strip. The report adds to previous findings by international bodies that have accused Israel of carrying out extermination and acts of genocide during its assault on Gaza, including two reports issued by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

The new report is expected to reinforce the case against Israel initiated by South Africa in late 2023 at the International Court of Justice for charges of genocide. The ICJ had ruled that Israel was “plausibly” committing genocide and ordered Israel to take specific measures to prevent it, including lifting its blockade on the entry of humanitarian aid to the strip, which Israel has since resumedfollowing the breakdown of the first phase of Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas.