Published 05/29/2026 10:12
Israel will be included for the first time on the United Nations list of sexual violence related to armed conflicts, as confirmed this Thursday (29) by the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon.
The organization’s annual report, which should be officially released in the coming days, brings together countries, armed forces and armed groups considered “credibly suspected” of committing rape and other forms of sexual violence in war zones. Hamas also appears on the list.
The decision marks a new worsening of the diplomatic crisis between Israel and the UN amid international complaints about abuses committed against Palestinians detained since the start of the war in Gaza, in October 2023.
According to Danon, UN Secretary-General António Guterres personally informed Israel about the country’s inclusion in the document.
In August last year, Guterres had already placed Israel and Russia “under warning”, indicating that both could be added to the list in the future given the accumulation of complaints documented by the United Nations.
At the time, the secretary-general stated that there was “serious concern” regarding information considered reliable about violations committed by Israeli armed and security forces against Palestinians in prisons, detention centers and military bases.
The allegations involve reports of rape, sexual violence, torture, beatings and humiliation against Palestinians arrested during the Israeli offensive in Gaza.
Reports from international organizations and human rights entities have indicated that the abuses are part of a systematic pattern within the Israeli detention system.
In recent months, international activists detained following solidarity actions in Gaza have also reported sexual assaults and ill-treatment in Israeli custody.
The UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, said that the inclusion of Israel on the list “took too long”.
“This inclusion could not have come too late,” he wrote on social media. According to her, there is independent and verified evidence of “systematic, large-scale and horrific” sexual violence committed by Israel against Palestinian women, men and children.
After confirming the country’s inclusion on the list, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the severing of institutional relations with António Guterres’ office until the end of his term.
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric responded by saying that, on Guterres’s part, “the door remains open for Israel”, as well as for the organization’s other member states.
Relations between Israel and the UN are going through one of the biggest crises in recent decades since the start of the war in Gaza. Israeli authorities began to accuse the organization of bias after successive international condemnations of the military conduct of the offensive in Palestinian territory.
In 2024, Israel declared António Guterres “persona non grata” in the country.
Source: vermelho.org.br