Rape allegations against soldiers UN puts Israel on controversial list - government reacts indignantly
An as yet unpublished United Nations report raises serious accusations against Israeli security forces. The UN speaks of documented cases of sexual violence against Palestinians. Israel firmly rejects the accusations and has now suspended contact with the leadership of the United Nations.
29.05.2026, 09:44
29.05.2026, 09:46
SDA
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- A UN report accuses Israeli security forces of sexual violence against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
- The United Nations sees credible evidence of rape and other serious assaults.
- Israel rejects the allegations as unfounded and breaks off contact with the UN General Secretariat under António Guterres.
A United Nations report makes serious accusations against Israeli soldiers and other security forces, accusing them of sexual violence against Palestinians. The list of abuses includes "rape, including with objects, gang rape, attempted rape, physical violence against the genitals, targeted shots to the genitals", according to the as yet unpublished report by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The Israeli Foreign Ministry spoke of "baseless accusations" with no factual basis.
According to the report, the United Nations had verified several cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2025. The victims were 14 men, 7 women, 9 boys and 1 girl from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. "Rapes and gang rapes, in some cases repeated, were committed against nine victims, the majority of whom were from the Gaza Strip."
The report includes Israeli security forces on a list of actors credibly suspected of systematically committing rape or other forms of sexual violence in armed conflict.
Israel: false symmetry with Hamas sexual atrocities
The Israeli Foreign Ministry spoke of a "shameful and absurd" decision that attempts to "create a false symmetry between Israel and the actual sexual atrocities committed by Hamas". Eyewitnesses to the Hamas massacre in Israel on 7 October 2023 described rape, among other things, and hostages kidnapped from Israel also reported sexualized violence. The UN classified the allegations as credible.
At the same time, Israel's Foreign Ministry accused the UN of "long-standing, institutionalized hostility" towards Israel and accused Guterres of covering up the fact that UN employees were also involved in the terrorist attack in Israel more than two and a half years ago. According to the UN, nine of the accused were dismissed as a result.
The Israeli UN representation in New York also reacted indignantly to the accusations and announced on Thursday that it was breaking off contact with the United Nations General Secretariat under Guterres. "The decision to blacklist Israel and accuse us of using sexual violence as a weapon of war is an outrageous decision," said Ambassador Danny Danon. He spoke of a "campaign" against his country. "We are done with this Secretary General!", Danon wrote on Platform X. Israel wants to wait until a new UN Secretary-General is appointed, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced.
UN leaders show willingness to talk
The Secretary-General's spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, explained that they had learned of the Israeli decision from social media and were ready for talks at any time. Dujarric did not wish to comment on the content of the report.
Guterres had already announced in the previous edition of the report that Israeli soldiers and other security forces could be included in the upcoming report due to "significant concerns about certain forms of sexual violence that have been repeatedly documented by the United Nations".
