As accounts of sexual violence against Palestinian women in Gaza are coming out, two women special rapporteurs of the UN say the issue is underreported and undervalued.

Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, said in a post on X that it is “abhorrent” that reports of rape by Israeli forces keep coming out without any consequences.

“Rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity or a constitutive act with respect to genocide! It must stop!”

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, said, “I lost count of how many renowned journalists interviewed me on the alleged mistreatment of/sexual abuse against Palestinian women by Israeli forces, and never published any article on this”.

US official accuses Israel of ‘systematic’ sexual abuse of Palestinians: report

A senior US Department of State official has accused Israel of “systematic” sexual abuse of Palestinian women, an Israeli army general has said in an interview.

Brigadier General Amir Avivi said he was shocked when the person in charge of the Israel-Palestine file at the US State Department made this accusation during a meeting, reports the Jerusalem Post, citing a 103FM interview.

Avivi was quoted as saying, “This is absolutely disconnected from reality. But without hesitation, she said, ‘The UN presented evidence to the Israeli government. I told her, ‘Does it make sense that this phenomenon would exist and the media would never have reported on it?’ I wanted there to be greater awareness… about what is really happening in the US State Department.”

“When we meet with a State Department official holding the Israeli-Palestinian portfolio, every word she utters, as far as I’m concerned, is an official US position. Ultimately, she is a government official,” Avivi continued.

As we reported earlier, Al Jazeera has spoken with a woman living near the besieged al-Shifa Hospital who said Israeli soldiers are raping and killing Palestinian women in the area.