Israeli army reports rise in sexual harassment complaints

Israeli army data has revealed a rise in sexual harassment complaints within the military in 2025, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.

According to figures released by the Gender Affairs Advisor to the Chief of Staff unit, 2,420 sexual violence complaints were filed last year - around 350 more than the previous year.

The unit responsible for the welfare of female soldiers said indictments were filed in only 42 cases, while 21 incidents resulted in internal disciplinary action.

In more than 700 cases, the military held what it described as “command-level discussions”, during which alleged perpetrators were warned or reprimanded.

Meirav Ben Ari, a lawmaker from the opposition Yesh Atid party who initiated the special session in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said the figures were “very troubling”.

She added that the military "must use every tool at its disposal to reduce this phenomenon, prevent it as much as possible, and support the victims throughout their military service."

The Israeli army said the steady rise in complaints over the past decade reflected growing trust in the system and increased willingness among soldiers to report incidents.

It also pointed to what it described as a policy of “zero tolerance” towards abuse.

It added that it would continue working to create “a safe and secure service environment”, adding that protecting soldiers was “a basic condition for operational readiness, command trust and the resilience” of the army. 

The latest figures come a week after a senior Israeli army officer was suspended over allegations he sexually assaulted a female soldier under his command, according to Israel Hayom.

The newspaper reported a steady rise in sexual violence complaints within the military since October 2023.

It said the increase was partly linked to greater awareness of sexual violence in the army, as well as the sharp rise in troop numbers after hundreds of thousands of reservists were mobilised following the start of the war on Gaza.

However, sexual violence has also been rising across Israel in recent years, according to data from the Association of Rape Crisis Centres in Israel, an NGO that combats sexual violence.

The organisation said it received more than 16,000 calls for help in 2024, with women accounting for more than 85 percent of callers.

In 2023, its centres received more than 17,000 calls - a 26 percent increase compared with 2018.

Sexual violence against Palestinians

While the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee - which supervises the army - debated rising sexual violence within the army, there was no discussion of allegations of widespread sexual abuse against Palestinian prisoners by Israeli soldiers and security personnel.

Last week, The New York Times published an investigation into what it described as systematic sexual abuse of Palestinians by Israeli security forces, sparking outrage in Israel.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar had instructed officials to pursue a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper.

Such allegations of sexual violence against Palestinians in Israeli detention facilities since October 2023 have been widely documented by rights organisations and media outlets, including Middle East Eye. 

Last December, two Palestinian detainees told MEE they were raped while imprisoned in Israeli detention centres.

One of them said he was raped by a military dog. The other said Israeli officers raped him using sharp objects while he was blindfolded.

A United Nations inquiry last year accused Israel of using sexualised torture and rape as "a method of war... to destabilize, dominate, oppress and destroy the Palestinian people".