New York, 28 May 2026

Israel and Russia have been added to a United Nations blacklist for sexual violence in armed conflicts, prompting both nations to issue furious denials and diplomatic retaliation.

What's new since 28 May 2026

The annual report by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, shared with the Israeli mission late Thursday ahead of its expected release on Friday, blacklists 77 government and non-government parties in a dozen countries suspected of committing or being responsible for sexual violence in conflicts around the world.

The list for 2025 includes Israel's armed and security forces as well as Hamas militants, who were previously blacklisted after their attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.

The report says the number of cases rose sharply in 2025 from 2024.

According to the still-unpublished report, the list of abuses includes "Vergewaltigungen, auch mit Gegenständen, Gruppenvergewaltigungen, versuchte Vergewaltigungen, körperliche Gewalt gegen die Genitalien, gezielte Schüsse auf die Genitalien".

The UN said it had verified several cases of conflict-related sexual violence in 2025, affecting 14 men, seven women, nine boys and one girl from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

"Vergewaltigungen und Gruppenvergewaltigungen, in einigen Fällen wiederholt, wurden an neun Opfern verübt, von denen die Mehrheit aus dem Gazastreifen stammte," the report states, listing Israeli security forces among actors credibly suspected of systematically committing rape or other forms of sexual violence in armed conflicts.

The report also notes that Hamas used sexual violence as a weapon of war during its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, including rape, gang rape, and abuse of hostages.

Israel's furious response

Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon announced on the social media platform X that Israel would cut off contact with the Secretary-General's office until Guterres' term expires at the end of the year.

"Die Entscheidung, Israel auf eine Schwarze Liste zu setzen und uns vorzuwerfen, sexualisierte Gewalt als Kriegswaffe einzusetzen, ist eine ungeheuerliche Entscheidung," Danon said.

"Wir sind fertig mit diesem Generalsekretär!" Danon wrote on X.

Danon also accused the UN of bias, stating: "Wenn die Fakten nicht ins Bild passen, ändert man bei der UN einfach die Darstellung."

He claimed Israel had invited UN representatives to visit and investigate, but they declined. "Wir haben Vertreter der UNO eingeladen, nach Israel zu kommen, um diese lächerlichen Vorwürfe zu überprüfen, doch sie haben entschieden, nicht zu kommen, und stattdessen ihre Kampagne gegen Israel fortzusetzen," Danon said.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein called the UN decision "beschämend und absurd" and said it was "ein weiterer Beweis für das wahre Wesen der Organisation: eine politisierte und korrupte Institution, die ihre Gründungsprinzipien aufgegeben hat und die systematische gezielte Verfolgung Israels zu ihrer vorrangigen Aufgabe erklärt hat."

Russia also blacklisted

The Israeli Foreign Ministry described the allegations as "haltlosen Anschuldigungen" without factual basis.

Russia was also added to the blacklist, which is published annually and includes dozens of state and non-state actors accused of systematically perpetrating sexual violence in conflicts.

In August last year, Guterres had already warned both Israel and Russia about possible inclusion on the blacklist.

Deepening rift with the UN

Guterres' spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told AFP: "Wir haben die Äußerungen zur Kenntnis genommen. Von unserer Seite aus bleibt die Tür des Generalsekretärs geöffnet."

Relations between the UN and Israel have been at a low point since the Gaza war. Israel declared Guterres "persona non grata" in October 2024, and he is no longer welcome in the country.

The organization Physicians for Human Rights Israel has accused Israel of holding hundreds of medical professionals from Gaza without charge and abusing them in Israeli detention facilities, including sexual abuse.

Background of the conflict

A ceasefire brokered largely by the United States came into effect in October 2025 after two years of war. More than 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack, according to Israeli figures, while Hamas authorities say more than 72,000 people were killed in the Israeli military operation in the Palestinian territory, though those figures cannot be independently verified.