Hamas and the use of sexual violence
There is no shortage of evidence that Hamas uses sexual violence as a weapon of war, with the atrocities of October 7th a painful recent example. An underreported element of Hamas’s sexual violence, however, is how the group have utilised it to bolster and maintain their rule in Gaza. Palestinian women have recently broken their silence on sexual violence at the hands of Hamas, recounting painful memories of being raped or violated when in need of aid or preyed upon after their husbands had been killed in war. The use of sexual violence goes beyond weaponry in Gaza; it is employed as a systemic tool to maintain national security.
This report examines two distinct but interconnected patterns: Hamas’s use of sexual violence against Israeli women as a weapon of war, and its use of sexual violence against Palestinian women as a mechanism of governance.
Militaristic rape is often categorised as a ‘lust rape’ (Baaz, 2013), the most common form of rape, which is defined by perpetrators as the sexual urge explanation; the claim that a man cannot abstain from sex for a prolonged period. This type of rape is thought of by many international relations scholars to be opportunistic and unavoidable. The second category is the ‘evil rapes’ (Baaz, 2013), which are typified by their brutality and often motivated by a wish to humiliate the dignity of their victims.
Rape against Israeli Women
Indeed, when looking at the sexual violence on and following October 7th, the category of ‘evil rapes’ presents clearly; it is important to reflect on the intentional humiliation of victims on a larger scale. If we agree that women are the symbolic bearers of national identity (Enloe, 2014) then the rape of the ‘enemy’ woman aims at destroying the fabric of society. . Hence the consequences of rape are far reaching, they are not limited to the physical invasion of a human body. Sexual violence also scars the emotional and psychological state of victims, deeply embedding trauma, guilt and shame (Chaudhury, 2017).
October 7th saw Hamas publicly gang rape, sexually assault and mutilate Israeli, with cases such as breasts being cut off and played with before these women were shot (For examples see Gettleman, 2023). The world witnessed this display of brutality by Hamas, terrorists actively shared footage of these bloody assaults on social media. Sexual abuse victims of the Nova festival have made statements recounting their trauma such as "I still have horrible nightmares. I don't sleep. I need a lot of time to have a shower. Because I feel dirty” (Ynet, 2024).
For those taken hostage the sexual violence only continued, rescued hostages have since delivered graphic testimonies of the violence they faced such as being forced at gunpoint to perform sexual acts on their captors. It is important to note that male hostages have since spoken out about the sexual violence they experienced: former hostage Rom Braslavski painfully recounted being stripped naked, tied up, starved and sexually abused. This outlines the crucial difference between the motives behind the use of sexual violence in the cases of Gaza and Israel. It is apparent that Hamas’s use of sexual violence extends beyond a hatred of Israelis, nor a desire to humiliate them as individuals, nor is it to make them more submissive to their will. However it is used as a weapon to destroy the collective psyche of the Israeli population.
Rape against Palestinian Women
In the same way that wartime rape can undo the threads of the ‘enemy’ society, it is evident that Hamas use rape against palestinian women to undo these threads and create a submissive society, sustaining their rule.
The aforementioned categories provide a baseline for analysing Hamas’s use of sexual violence towards Palestinian women, although they are ultimately insufficient. Some may view ‘lust rapes’ an appropriate category, where the rape of women in Gaza is opportunistic and reflects an abused power dynamic where a Hamas official exploits a vulnerable woman. New evidence suggests that these rapes are not opportunistic, rather systematic, with the purpose of maintaining a population who submit to their government.
This brings us to the ‘national security rape’ (Enloe, 2000) typology. It is defined as a form of rape systematically used by governments and militaries to protect the national security of a society.
It seems nonsensical that amongst all the wartime threats they have experienced from October 7th to now, that Gazan women arise as a national security threat. Yet, the rape of women allows for them to maintain a culture of fear and submission, reinforcing Hamas as the only legitimate leaders of Gaza. This is precisely the logic of national security rape, it is not protecting Hamas from the external threats posed by Israel; but protects Hamas from its own population.
It should be noted that the women who came forward to share their stories, told the Daily Mail that they were being raped in exchange for food, and aid. One woman shared ‘They told me if I don't cooperate, my children will starve.’ (Lisbona, 2026). Returning to women as the symbolic bearers of identity; the rape of these women allows Hamas to manipulate this identity and culture.The act of rape not only embeds fear towards disobeying but equally makes women fearful to ask for help. Thus, manifesting a helpless cycle of sexual violence and vulnerability. The cycle cements their lack of choice, and this constitutes a large part of the foundation from which Hamas governs.
The cycle produced by systemic rape as a weapon is maintained by enforced silence. An Al-Qassam Brigades member who reported to Hamas leadership that fighters were exploiting martyrs' widows was ordered to remain silent (Ynet, 2026). Additionally, women who considered reporting sexual violence were warned that in Gaza "Hamas is the government” foreclosing any avenue for justice, further cementing their enforced silence. Hamas are not just raping individual women; they are sending a message to the female population regarding the cost of pursuing justice (Fitzgerald, 2026). Hence silence becomes a coerced consensus giving them a strong façade of legitimacy.
The Generational Consequences: Child Marriage and the Reproduction of Control
At this moment we can understand how during this war, rape has been used to force Palestinian women into submission for the sake of so-called “national security.” However, the end of the war does not necessarily mean the consequences of this rape absolve.
To understand the long term consequences, we must turn to the increased rates of child marriage. Prior to the start of the October 7th war, child marriage rates dropped from 26% in 2009 to 11% in 2022 (UNFPA, 2026). Within the first four months of 2025, at least 400 girls aged 14-16 were registered as married. The UN stresses that this is a conservative estimate.
The rape and exploitation of women generate the conditions for child marriage to thrive; they both function within the same ecosystem of female disposability. Child marriages often occur within families who have lost male providers, these are the same families in which the women are being sexually violated for aid. The UNFPA warns that girls are being ‘driven into marriage by hunger, fear and displacement’. Often daughters are married off young to provide the family with a layer of protection, both physically and economically.
In Gaza, women’s bodies are central to how Hamas reproduce themselves culturally and demographically. Child marriage is the exploitation of young girls and the suppression of their choice and liberties; their education has ended and their reproductive futures have been dictated for them. Its strong correlation to war time, political rape asserts that that women's bodies are a resource to be administered by Hamas, not autonomous persons with sovereign choices. Violence against women and girls is not simply a feature of Hamas’s rule of Gaza, it is a key enabling factor.
Finally, As child marriage rates increase so do adolescent pregnancy rates. The UNFPA reported adolescent births to be over double what they were pre-war. Amongst the numerous complications an adolescent pregnancy brings it also increases her vulnerability and hence increases the chances of gender based violence. This further reinforces the cycle of submission.
As the UNFPA put it ‘ We are witnessing the dismantling of a generation's future’.
Sexual violence emerges here not as a by-product of conflict but as a governing strategy: Hamas uses it to shatter Israeli society from the outside and to create a submissive Palestinian society from within, binding both forms of brutality to the preservation of its power. It is evident that women’s bodies are treated as instruments through which control is asserted, fear is manufactured and political authority is reproduced. A future in which women and girls in Gaza are free, and women and girls in Israel receive justice depends on dismantling the system that produces and celebrates this violence.
Sources
Baaz, Maria Eriksson, and Maria Stern. Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War?: Perceptions, Prescriptions, Problems in the Congo and Beyond. 9 May 2013.
Chaudhury , Suprakash , and Ajay Kumar Bakhla . “Psychological Aspects of Rape and Its Consequences.” Psychology and Behavioural Science: International Journal, vol. 2, no. 3, 2017, 10.19080/PBSIJ.2017.02.555586.
Enloe, Cynthia. Bananas, Beaches and Bases : Making Feminist Sense of International Politics. Belmont, Calif., California University Press, 2014, pp. 25–56.
Enloe, Cynthia. (2000). Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women’s Lives (1st ed.). University of California Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt14qrzb1
Fitzgerald, Hugh. “Hamas Trades Food for Sexual Favors | Frontpage Mag.” Frontpage Mag, 28 Apr. 2026, https://www.frontpagemag.com/hamas-trades-food-for-sexual-favors/. Accessed 10 July 2026.
Gettleman, J., Schwartz, A. and Sella, A. (2023). ‘Screams Without Words’: How Hamas Weaponized Sexual Violence on Oct. 7. [online] The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/28/world/middleeast/oct-7-attacks-hamas-israel-sexual-violence.html.
Lisbona, Natalie. “Women Living Under Hamas Rule in Gaza Describe to the Mail How They Are Sexually Abused by the Terror Group’s Fighters and Forced to Have Sex in Return for Food Aid.” Mail Online, Daily Mail, 18 Apr. 2026, https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15732903/women-living-hamas-rule-gaza-mail-sexually-abused-terror-groups-fighters-forced-sex-return-food-aid.html. Accessed 10 July 2026.
UNFPA. “Surge in Child Marriage and Adolescent Pregnancy Threatens a Generation of Girls in Gaza.” United Nations Population Fund, 2026, https://www.unfpa.org/press/surge-child-marriage-and-adolescent-pregnancy-threatens-generation-girls-gaza. Accessed 10 July 2026.
UNFPA “UNFPA: Child Marriages Surge in Gaza as War Tightens Grip on Girls’ Futures - Question of Palestine.” Question of Palestine, 24 Mar. 2026, https://www.un.org/unispal/document/unfpa-child-marriages-surge-in-gaza-as-war-tightens-grip-on-girls-futures/. Accessed 10 July 2026.
Ynet. “‘At That Moment, I Am Their Jewish Doll’: Nova Survivor Recounts Horrific Rape by Hamas Terrorists.” Ynetnews, 28 July 2024, https://www.ynetnews.com/article/b1j11k6qyc. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
Ynet. “‘Sex in Exchange for Food or Money’: Gaza’s Widows Sexually Exploited by Hamas.” Ynetglobal, 19 Apr. 2026, https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hkdqkhwpzl#google_vignette. Accessed 10 July 2026.
Published by: Daniella Spoto
Originally produced for The Pinsker Centre
