Takeaways From AP Examination of How 2 Debunked Accounts of Sexual Violence on Oct. 7 Originated

The United Nations and other organizations have presented credible evidence that Hamas militants committed sexual assault during their Oct. 7 rampage in southern Israel. Though the number of assaults is unclear, photo and video from the attack’s aftermath have shown bodies with legs splayed, clothes torn and blood near their genitals.

Other accounts from that day, however, proved to be untrue. They include two debunked testimonies from volunteers with the Israeli search and rescue organization ZAKA, whose stories helped fuel a global clash over whether sexual violence occurred during the attack and on what scale.

Some allege the accounts of sexual assault were purposely concocted. ZAKA officials and others dispute that. Regardless, AP’s examination of ZAKA’s handling of the now debunked stories shows how information can be clouded and distorted in the chaos of the conflict.

The accounts have encouraged skepticism and set off a highly charged debate about the scope of what occurred on Oct. 7, one still playing out on social media and in college campus protests.

Here are key takeaways from the AP’s look at how these stories originated:

VOLUNTEERS’ INTERPRETATIONS WERE FLAWED
One account that turned out to be unfounded came from Chaim Otmazgin, a ZAKA volunteer who collected bodies after the attack.

...EASY ACCESS TO THE VOLUNTEERS HELPED SPREAD THE STORIES
Almost immediately after Oct. 7, Israel began allowing groups of journalists to visit the ravaged kibbutzim. On the trips, journalists found ZAKA volunteers to be among the most accessible and willing to talk.

The group’s usual media protocols were bypassed, and volunteers who typically would be vetted by ZAKA’s spokesperson before being interviewed spoke to journalists directly, drawing conclusions about what they saw, even though the group acknowledges that its volunteers are not forensics workers.

...ACCOUNTS WERE FALSE BUT EVIDENCE OF SEXUAL ASSAULT MOUNTS
The loud debate belies a growing body of evidence supporting the claim that sexual assault took place that day, even as its scope remains difficult to ascertain.

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. But the U.N. investigators also said that in the absence of forensic evidence and survivor testimony, it would be impossible to determine the scope of such violence. Hamas has denied its forces committed sexual violent.

The investigators described the accounts that originated with Otmazgin and Landau to be “unfounded.”

The U.N. report shines a light on the issues that have contributed to the skepticism over sexual violence. It said there was “limited crime scene processing” and some evidence of sexual assault may have been lost due to “the interventions of some inadequately trained volunteer first responders.” It also said global scrutiny of the accounts emerging from Oct. 7 may have deterred survivors from coming forward

🔗SOURCE ➡️ AP

Related: 2/22 — How 2 Debunked Accounts of Sexual Violence on Oct. 7 Fueled a Global Dispute Over Israel-Hamas War

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