The 35-page report, released by the Israeli mission to the UN late Thursday ahead of its formal unveiling on Friday, names 77 government and non-government entities across a dozen countries suspected of committing sexual violence in conflict zones. It notes a significant increase in reported cases in 2025 compared to 2024.
Additionally, Russian armed and security forces have also been blacklisted this year for sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilians detained during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The 2025 blacklist includes both Israel’s armed and security forces and Hamas militants, who had been previously blacklisted for their actions during the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which ignited the war in Gaza.
In last year’s report, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned both Israel and Russia of potential inclusion on the list.
The ambassadors from both nations expressed their outrage over the listings and directed criticism at Guterres.
“We will send a letter to the secretary-general stating that these are unfounded lies, intended to portray Russia as a villain, as they always do,” said Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia. He mentioned that Russia is compiling a report regarding how Ukrainian forces treat Russian prisoners of war.
“We are finished with this UN Secretary-General,” stated Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, via social media. “Guterres has placed Israel on the same blacklist as Hamas, ISIS, and the most despicable terrorist organizations globally.” Guterres’ second five-year term concludes on December 31.
Danon indicated that Israel had submitted documents, data, and comprehensive responses concerning the allegations made in the report.
The report noted that in 2025, the UN documented “patterns of sexual violence” against Palestinians detained in Israel and the occupied territories, verifying multiple incidents of conflict-related sexual violence, including acts of torture, affecting 14 men, seven women, nine boys, and one girl from Gaza and the West Bank. It reported 13 cases documented in 2025 and 18 in 2023 and 2024.
“Violations involved rape, including with objects, gang rape, attempted rape, physical violence to the genitals, targeted gunfire to the genitals, inappropriate touching, strip and cavity searches without apparent security reasons, forced nudity, and threats of rape,” the report outlined.
It described at least nine victims, primarily from Gaza, who experienced rape or gang rape, with some subjected to repeated assaults by individuals from the Israel Defense Forces, Israel’s prison service, as well as special forces and police units.
Israel’s foreign ministry asserted on Thursday that it has “thoroughly, comprehensively, and unequivocally refuted these claims.”
“This decision exemplifies the UN’s longstanding and systemic hostility towards Israel,” the foreign ministry stated on X.
The report once again specifies accusations of sexual violence by Hamas but notes that many details could not be independently verified due to the Israeli government’s continued denial of UN access needed for investigations.
Russian authorities likewise consistently deny UN human rights investigators access, the report indicated, yet investigators were able to confirm 310 instances of conflict-related sexual violence in Russia and Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine affecting prisoners of war and civilian detainees, with the majority being male victims, according to the report.
Human rights monitors in Ukraine recorded 31 cases of sexual violence against prisoners of war and civilian detainees, mainly occurring before 2025, the report noted. Ukraine has not been included on the UN blacklist.
