For the first time since its inception, the United Nations’ annual “list of shame” — formally the annex to the Secretary-General’s report on sexual violence in armed conflict — has named Israel’s military and security forces as parties credibly suspected of committing patterns of rape and sexual torture.
It is a landmark inclusion. Yet, as a new investigation by The Electronic Intifada reveals, the 2026 report from UN Secretary-General António Guterres presents a harrowing moral contrast. On one side, the UN has verified multiple cases of rape, gang rape, and genital torture by Israeli forces against Palestinian men, women, and children. On the other, nearly three years after the October 7th attacks, the UN still cites zero verified Israeli victims of sexual violence by Palestinian armed groups.
The finding threatens to unravel the carefully constructed narrative that helped marshal Western support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
The Verified Crimes: Palestinians in Detention
The UN’s report is unusually specific regarding Israeli forces. Investigators have verified conflict-related sexual violence against 31 Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank. The victims include 14 men, seven women, nine boys, and one girl.
The abuses are brutal and methodical: rape with objects, gang rape, targeted shooting of genitals, forced nudity, and strip searches with “no apparent security justification.” The violence occurred predominantly during detention and interrogation at notorious sites, including the Sde Teiman detention camp, Etzion, Megiddo, Ofer Prison, and the Gush Etzion police station.
In one case verified by the UN, the assault was filmed. Five male victims suffered severe rectal bleeding or swelling for days or weeks, some without receiving medical treatment. Perpetrators identified include the Israeli army (IDF), the Israel Prison Service, the Ketter special forces unit, and Yamam—the police’s counter-terrorism unit.
The UN notes that these 31 cases are likely “the tip of the iceberg.” Investigators remain blocked from detention sites and Gaza. Furthermore, Israeli forces explicitly threaten detainees not to report abuse, creating a climate of terror that prevents survivors from coming forward.
Impunity in the Spotlight: The Sde Teiman Affair
The report highlights a total breakdown of accountability. The clearest example is the case of five reserve soldiers indicted in February 2025 for assaulting a detainee at Sde Teiman. The UN report notes that the evidence included video, medical reports, and a description of an object being inserted into the victim’s anus, causing severe injuries.
However, the indictment notably did not include rape or sexual violence charges. By March 2026, all charges were dropped. In a perverse twist, the only person punished was the military prosecutor who brought the case, Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi. After facing hatred and harassment, she reportedly attempted suicide.
“That tells you everything about the atmosphere,” Ali Abunimah notes in the Electronic Intifada broadcast. “Even if prosecutors wanted to bring accountability, they cannot.”
The October 7th Contradiction
The silence in the report is as loud as its findings. While the UN verified Israeli crimes with video and medical evidence, it treats claims of mass rape on October 7th differently. The report admits that more than 50 Israeli captives released in 2025 included six who “publicly alleged” sexual violence.
Yet, Secretary-General Guterres states plainly: “The United Nations was not able to verify any of these reports.”
The reason? Israel continues to deny access to competent UN bodies to carry out investigations. Furthermore, Guterres notes the UN has not received information on any indictments in Israel for sexual violence against detained Palestinians.
The Patten Precedent: A Propaganda Mission?
The discrepancy forces a reckoning with the March 2024 mission led by Pramila Patten, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. That mission was widely hailed as having corroborated Israel’s claims of systemic rape on October 7th.
Speaking at a press conference last week to launch the new report, Patten was confronted by France 24 correspondent Jessica Le Masurier. The journalist noted the stark contrast between the concrete video evidence of Israeli abuses and Patten’s 2024 findings.
Patten’s answer was revealing. She admitted her 2024 visit was “of an exceptional nature” due to the lack of access for UN human rights monitors. She conceded that had she not gone, “there would have been nothing in the Secretary-General’s report on the 7th of October attacks.”
In other words, to avoid an empty page, the UN chose to amplify unverified Israeli claims.
“Pramila Patten’s team could not identify tangible indications of rape in available photos and videos,” Abunimah recalls. “They met no survivors and found no digital evidence specifically depicting acts of sexual violence. Yet the UN gave its stamp of approval to Israel’s genocidal lies.”
The Call for Accountability
As the report circulates at the Security Council, critics are demanding a correction of the record. While the UN constantly demands accountability for alleged perpetrators, a growing number of human rights advocates are asking a different question: When will there be accountability for the UN officials who, intentionally or not, helped whitewash a genocide with unverified atrocity propaganda?
For the 31 Palestinian victims—men, women, boys, and girls—the verification came too late. For the world, the report clarifies one thing: In this conflict, the verified rapists wear Israeli uniforms, and the unverified narrative is used as a weapon of war.
