A storm broke out over the weekend after Reem Alsalem, the UN's special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, posted a series of statements on X that were interpreted as casting doubt on the sexual crimes carried out by the Hamas terrorist organization during the October 7 attack.
In her comments, Alsalem wrote that no independent investigation had been found that established rape took place on October 7 and also claimed that no Palestinian in Gaza applauded rape. The remarks stood in direct contradiction to the UN's own official findings published last year.
Alongside these posts, Alsalem published additional messages accusing Israel and referring to the Sde Teiman affair and investigations involving Israeli soldiers. In one post she wrote that the writing was on the wall and added that impunity for crimes against Palestinians had existed for decades. In another she argued that some people naively believed that an effective investigation in Israel would ever be carried out into sexual violence against Palestinians.
For those who naively believe that israelí perpetrators of sexual violence against Palestinians will ever get investigated and prosecuted, think again. The writing is on the wall and has been fir decades. Impunity for crimes committed against Palestinians is sanctioned by State… https://t.co/fHVZMoy301
— Reem Alsalem UNSR Violence Against Women and Girls (@UNSRVAW) November 14, 2025
The statements sparked sharp reactions in Israel. Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the UN, responded harshly on X. He wrote that any UN representative who denies the rapes committed by Hamas should be removed from office. According to him, the remarks were a moral disgrace, an insult to the victims and their families, and a violation of every basic international standard. Danon added that Israel would not allow the laundering of Hamas' crimes, and he criticized UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, accusing him that your silence means partnership.
The backlash against Alsalem's remarks compelled her to respond. In a follow up statement, she wrote that her words had been taken out of context. She also pointed to an interview in which she said she had addressed the sexual assaults carried out on October 7 and additional information being examined by various bodies. Alsalem claimed she had sought to shed light on issues surrounding forensic evidence and disputes regarding independent investigations, but her clarification did little to calm the criticism.
As a reminder, the UN's special representative on sexual violence in conflict and UN under-secretary-general, Pramila Patten, published a comprehensive report in April 2024 that remains the UN's central institutional acknowledgment of the sexual atrocities committed by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7. That report relied heavily on the findings of a mission she led during her visit to Israel in January and February of that year, during which she was presented with testimonies and evidence of Hamas' war crimes.
During her visit, Patten and her team reviewed more than 5,000 photos and roughly 50 hours of footage, toured key attack sites including the Nova music festival grounds, Route 232, Kibbutz Re'im, Kibbutz Be'eri and the Nahal Oz base, and held dozens of meetings with government officials, the Israel Defense Forces, the Shin Bet security agency and police, as well as survivors, eyewitnesses, families of hostages and civil society organizations.
However, in August this year, Patten released the UN secretary-general's annual report on sexual violence in armed conflict worldwide. Political pressure was exerted to present Hamas and Israel in the same category in an effort to create a false impression of moral equivalence between the sides. Ultimately Israel was mentioned in the report under a warning ahead of possible inclusion in next year's blacklist, on the grounds of alleged systematic violations involving sexual violence against Palestinian detainees.
