NEW YORK, May 29, 2026 (WAFA) – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has included Israeli occupation forces on the UN list of “parties credibly suspected of committing patterns of rape and other forms of conflict-related sexual violence.”
According to Israeli media reports, the designation appeared in Guterres' annual report covering the period between January and December 2025, documenting cases verified by the UN involving sexual violence against Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank while in Israeli detention.
The report, issued one day after Israel was added to a UN “blacklist,” stated that patterns of sexual violence against Palestinians detained in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory continued during 2025.
It added that the cases verified by the United Nations “should be understood as indicative of a broader pattern extending over prolonged periods, rather than an exhaustive list,” particularly as the Israeli government continues to deny UN investigators access to detention facilities and the Gaza Strip.
The report said victims faced obstacles in reporting abuses, including direct threats made by Israeli security agencies to prevent detainees from speaking about violations they endured.
According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Israel released 1,968 Palestinian detainees under the Gaza ceasefire agreement, while more than 9,000 Palestinians remain imprisoned or detained, including over 4,000 held without charge or trial under administrative detention procedures.
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.
Documented violations included rape, including with objects, gang rape, attempted rape, physical violence targeting genital organs, deliberate shooting at genital areas, unwanted touching, strip searches, body cavity searches without apparent security justification, forced nudity and threats of rape.
The report stated that rape and gang rape, in some cases repeatedly, affected nine victims, most of them from Gaza.
It attributed responsibility for the violations to members of the Israeli army and security services, including the Israeli military, the Israel Prison Service and special police units.
According to the report, abuses mainly occurred during 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 occupied Palestinian territory, noting that journalists and human rights defenders were among the victims.
It said most cases involved multiple forms of sexual violence simultaneously, while some abuses were photographed or recorded on video, including one rape case.
The report further stated that sexual violence against Palestinian female detainees mainly involved threats of rape, forced nudity, unwanted touching and degrading searches without justification.
Meanwhile, men and boys 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 report warned that the long-term effects of such violations on detainees released to Gaza were worsened by the catastrophic living conditions in the territory.
It also cited repeated findings by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, which documented a “systemic lack of accountability” for violations committed against Palestinians, reinforcing a climate of impunity.
The report referenced the case of five Israeli reserve soldiers from Unit 100 who were indicted in February 2025 over a severe assault committed at Sde Teiman camp in July 2024. Despite video footage, medical reports and detailed evidence, prosecutors did not include sexual violence or rape charges in the indictment.
According to the report, all charges against the soldiers were dropped in March 2026, a development the UN warned could further entrench impunity and enable additional acts of conflict-related sexual violence.
The report added that despite continued engagement between UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten and the Israeli government, Israel has not provided information demonstrating compliance with measures required under UN Security Council Resolution 2467, nor granted UN bodies access for monitoring and investigations.
Guterres called on Israel to immediately cease all acts of sexual violence, implement time-bound commitments to prevent such violations and allow unrestricted access for UN investigators to examine all allegations, including conflict-related sexual violence.
He also urged Israeli authorities to ensure Palestinian prisoners are treated with dignity and that all allegations of sexual abuse are independently investigated and prosecuted.
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