The piece, titled "The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians", with a call for universal condemnation of sexual violence, points out that rape and sexual torture have become a "standard operating procedure" within Israel’s detention system, an accusation that has sent shockwaves through the international community and ignited a fierce diplomatic firestorm.
Kristof’s central thesis is built on a "simple proposition": "Whatever our views of the Middle East conflict, we should be able to unite in condemning rape."
By framing the issue through this lens, Kristof attempts to hold the Israeli government to the same moral standard that world leaders, including Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe Biden, demanded following Israeli unsubstantiated claims of sexual violence committed by Hamas on 7 October 2023.
A NYT report in 2024 that accused Hamas fighters of carrying out acts of sexual violence against Israeli women on 7 October was later discredited by an investigative report in the Intercept and recanted testimonies. Some of the crucial details of Israel’s narrative claiming Hamas committed mass atrocities were simply false and a result of Israel's desire to obtain public and international support for violent retaliation against Gaza, according to an investigation conducted by the French newspaper Libération in December 2023. Israel has even prevented UN investigators from speaking to alleged witnesses and victims of the events, former UN rights chief Navi Pillay, who is chairing the probe.
Testimonies from the shadows
The heart of Kristof’s reporting lies in the testimonies of 14 Palestinians, men, women, and children, who recount a pattern of dehumanization and physical violation. Among the most graphic is the account of Sami Al-Sai, a 46-year-old freelance journalist. Al-Sai describes a brutal assault by prison guards in 2024 where he was thrown to the ground and sodomized with a rubber baton and other objects while guards "were laughing at him."
"I was praying for death," Al-Sai told Kristof, recounting how a female guard also physically assaulted his genitals during the ordeal. His testimony is not an isolated one. Kristof details the story of an anonymous farmer who was allegedly raped with a metal baton on three separate occasions in a single day, once even occurring in a prison clinic after he had fainted from previous abuse. When the farmer attempted to file a formal complaint, he was reportedly told by jeering guards, "Now you have even more to put in your complaint," before being assaulted again.
These accounts, Kristof writes, suggest a shift from incidental "rogue" acts to a systemic tool of interrogation and humiliation. "There is no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes," Kristof clarifies. "But in recent years they have built a security apparatus where sexual violence has become... 'a major element in the ill-treatment of Palestinians.'"
Indeed, in recent years, Israeli officials led by Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir have personally overseen harsh and humiliating interrogation of Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails.
In 2024, the US State Department called reports of sexual abuse of Palestinian detainees by Israeli soldiers “horrific” and said Israel must investigate “swiftly” and “fully," after a video leaked from an Israeli detention camp, and aired by Israel's Channel 12 broadcaster, purportedly showing the sexual abuse of a Palestinian prisoner.
The UN rights experts have called for an independent probe into alleged Israeli abuses against Palestinian women and girls, including killings, rapes, and sexual assault.
A report by a UN Commission of Inquiry has also revealed a sharp increase in sexual and gender-based violence, including rape, against Palestinians by both Israeli security forces and settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Palestinian journalists held in Israeli prisons from October 2023 to January 2026 have suffered systematic abuse, including sexual violence, according to a Committee to Protect Journalists report published in February 2026.
A culture of impunity
The column leans heavily on the expertise of human rights advocates who argue that a total lack of accountability has created a "green light" for such behavior. Sari Bashi, an Israeli-American human rights lawyer and executive director of the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, told Kristof that while she hasn't seen evidence of direct orders, "there’s persistent evidence that the authorities know it’s happening and are not stopping it."
Bashi’s organization has filed hundreds of complaints of abuse, none of which, she claims, have led to charges. This climate of impunity was recently highlighted by a high-profile case involving nine reservists accused of raping a Gaza detainee. When investigators attempted to hold the soldiers, right-wing protesters and politicians stormed the detention facility in support of the guards. The eventual dropping of those charges, Bashi told Kristof, was "giving permission to rape."
Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in the Israeli genocidal war in Gaza, however, has dismissed such accusations as "baseless" and a "blood libel," asserting that Israel must "hunt down its enemies—not its heroic fighters."
Following the detention of soldiers accused of abuse, some protesters and far-right politicians, including members of the Israeli Knesset, defended the soldiers, arguing that the "right to rape" is permissible for national security.
Israel's parliament has meanwhile approved a bill that would allow the execution of Palestinians. Israeli lawmakers also approved a bill setting up a special tribunal that would have the authority to sentence Palestinians who resist the occupation to death.
The 'Double Silence' of the victim
One of the most complex aspects of Kristof’s reporting is the explanation of why these accusations are only now gaining mainstream attention. He identifies a "double silence" that traps survivors.
On one side is the threat of state retaliation. Many survivors told Kristof they were warned by the Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security agency) never to speak to the media. The farmer who provided testimony later called Kristof to retract his name, fearing his family would be targeted.
On the other side are the rigid social norms of Palestinian society. "Arab society discourages discussing the topic for fear of hurting the morale of prisoners’ families and undermining the Palestinian narrative of defiant and heroic detainees," Kristof explains.
Furthermore, the stigma of sexual assault is so severe that two victims noted that an acknowledged rape could "harm the ability of [a prisoner's] sisters and daughters to find husbands."
Despite this, some are choosing to break the silence. Mohammad Matar, a Palestinian official who was stripped and assaulted by settlers, now keeps a photo of his own humiliation on his office wall to confront the stigma.
A Gaza journalist who was reportedly mounted by a dog at the behest of Israeli handlers told Kristof: "There are moments when remembering feels unbearable... but I remember there are people still in there. So, I speak up."
The role of American complicity
Kristof does not spare the United States from criticism. He argues that because American tax dollars subsidize the Israeli security forces, the U.S. is "complicit" in these acts. He points to the 1997 "Abner Louima" case in New York City, where a Haitian immigrant was raped by police, as proof that public outrage and aggressive prosecution can curb such violence.
He calls on the American government to take tangible steps: "If we conditioned arms transfers on an end to sexual assault, we could send a moral and practical message that sexual violence is unacceptable no matter the identity of the victim."
A pattern of dehumanization
The column concludes with a grim reflection on the nature of war and dehumanization. Kristof draws parallels between these allegations and the "savagery" he has witnessed in Congo, Sudan, and Myanmar, as well as the American-led abuses at Abu Ghraib.
"The blunt reality is that when there are no consequences, we humans are capable of immense depravity toward those we are taught to scorn as subhuman," Kristof writes. He points to the rhetoric of officials like Itamar Ben-Gvir, the National Security Minister, who has referred to detainees as "scum" and "Nazis," as a catalyst for this "drift toward savagery."
As the international community grapples with these revelations, the Israeli government remains steadfast in its denials. However, Kristof’s reporting, backed by the UN and numerous human rights monitors, suggests that the "simple proposition" of condemning rape has become a complex and uncomfortable mirror for the democratic world to look into.
'Black Holes of Humanity'
As of May 2026, a surge of similar harrowing testimonies and reports from major international and Palestinian human rights organizations has exposed what many are calling a "systematic landscape of depravity" within the Israeli detention system.
According to the latest figures from the Palestinian Prisoners Club and WAFA, the number of Palestinian political prisoners has ballooned to over 9,600, an 83 percent increase since late 2023. Among them are at least 88 women and hundreds of children, many held under "administrative detention" without charge or trial.
Escalation of sexual violence
A landmark report from Amnesty International and updated briefings from Human Rights Watch (HRW) describe Israeli detention facilities as "legal black holes" where torture is a structural feature. Most alarmingly, investigations by The Electronic Intifada and the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor have documented the specific use of sexual violence as a tool of interrogation and collective punishment.
One survivor, identified as Wajdi (43), recounted to investigators being tied naked to a metal bed during interrogation. "A soldier raped me... I felt severe pain and screamed, but every time I screamed, I was beaten," he testified. Wajdi further alleged that after the soldier finished, he was raped by a dog that appeared "trained for that purpose." This account of "canine rape" has been echoed by multiple survivors from Gaza, including 35-year-old Amir, who described soldiers filming the assaults while laughing.
Systematic abuse in female prisons
The Palestinian Prisoner Society reported on 10 May 2026 that conditions in Damon Prison have reached a breaking point. Testimonies indicate that "repression units" carried out at least ten raids during March and April 2024 alone. These raids involved:
Severe beatings: Forcing women to lie on the ground with their hands tied while guards assaulted them.
Degrading strip searches: Repeated, invasive searches are often performed in the presence of male soldiers.
Medical neglect: Two women diagnosed with cancer are reportedly being denied life-saving treatment.
Torture as "Standard Operating Procedure"
Human rights groups argue that this violence is not the work of "rogue actors" but is enabled by a culture of absolute impunity. Amnesty International noted that despite over 1,300 torture complaints filed between 2001 and 2020, zero indictments were issued.
"Sexualised violence is deployed as a method of domination—to instil fear, punish, and fracture communities," stated a group of UN experts in a recent Ahram Online feature.
Current figures show that at least 89 Palestinians have died in custody since the escalation began, with organizations like B'Tselem citing "extreme physical pressure" and starvation policies as contributing factors.
As the international community faces these documented horrors, the call for immediate Red Cross access and independent war crimes investigations continues to mount, even as the Israeli government dismisses the findings as "baseless."
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