Media release: Embassy of Israel in New Zealand…

An independent report released this week by the Dinah Project, a legal and academic initiative supported by Bar-Ilan University, presents a detailed and methodologically grounded examination of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) committed by Hamas during and after the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel.

The report, titled “A Quest for Justice”, is the result of over a year of multidisciplinary research and analysis. It compiles and evaluates evidence through internationally recognised legal and evidentiary standards—such as those used by the United Nations, the International Criminal Court (ICC), and other human rights mechanisms.

The report includes:

Testimonies from first-hand survivors, released hostages, and health professionals;

  • Eyewitness and earwitness accounts that meet the “res gestae” standard for admissibility in international criminal proceedings;
  • Morgue records, photographic and forensic documentation from IDF personnel and independent investigators;
  • A carefully constructed evidentiary matrix, with over 100 categorised data points reviewed and cross-checked for duplication and reliability.

The report was written by senior legal professionals, including:

  • Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kaddari (former Vice Chair of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women),
  • Judge (Ret.) Nava Ben-Or, and
  • Att. Col (Res.) Sharon Zagagi-Pinhas.

“While most victims did not survive, and others remain too traumatised to testify, the evidentiary picture—built from multiple layers of real-time accounts and documentation—is robust and prosecutable under international law,” the authors write.

Their conclusions are reinforced by the UN Secretary-General’s own reports, as well as recent findings by the Independent Commission of Inquiry, and the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant issued in November 2024.

This report raises questions of universal relevance: how sexual violence in conflict is investigated, how credible evidence is assessed when victims are silenced, and what the international community does—or fails to do—when such crimes occur.

We believe this material will be of public interest to your readers and audiences, particularly in the context of New Zealand’s long-standing commitment to international justice, gender-based violence prevention, and human rights reporting.

Download the full report here: https://bit.ly/40CAi9S