Some allege the accounts of sexual assault were purposely concocted. The military was focused on battling back militants still hiding out in southern Israel. ZAKA’s main experience with victim identification before then was limited to distinguishing militant attackers from their victims, not determining who was a victim of sexual assault. That means bodies that might have shown signs of sexual assault could have eluded examination. A U.N. fact-finding team found “reasonable grounds” to believe that some of those who stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7 had committed sexual violence, including rape and gang rape.

Source: ABC News May 22, 2024 16:03 UTC