Israel Slams NYT ‘Blood Libel’ Over Op-Ed Published Before Hamas Abuse Report

Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday denounced the New York Times over the timing of an op-ed by columnist Nicholas Kristof alleging sexual abuse of Palestinians by Israelis, published one day before the release of a major Israeli civil commission report on Hamas sexual violence during the October 7 massacre and in captivity.

The ministry said the Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes Against Women and Children had approached the paper months ago, but the New York Times was “not interested” in reporting its findings. According to the ministry, the paper then published Kristof’s piece on Monday, prominently featuring it with an accompanying video, one day before the commission released its report.

“Aware of the report and its release date, the night before its release, the NYT ran a shameful attack on Israel, belittling Hamas’ sexual crimes. That tells you everything about the NYT's agenda,” the Foreign Ministry wrote on X.

In a separate post Monday, the Foreign Ministry called Kristof’s op-ed “one of the worst blood libels ever to appear in the modern press.”

“In an unfathomable inversion of reality, and through an endless stream of baseless lies, propagandist Nicholas Kristof turns the victim into the accused,” the ministry wrote.

The ministry said Israel’s citizens were victims of “the most horrific sexual crimes committed by Hamas on October 7,” and that hostages were later subjected to further sexual abuse in captivity. It accused the op-ed of being part of a “false and well-orchestrated anti-Israel campaign” aimed at placing Israel on the UN Secretary-General’s blacklist.

Israel’s Ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, also condemned the piece and urged readers, “Don’t buy into their blood libels.”

Kristof’s op-ed, written from Judea and Samaria, according to its dateline, said Palestinians had described to him a pattern of widespread sexual violence by Israeli settlers, soldiers, Shin Bet interrogators, prison guards and other security personnel. He wrote that he spoke with 14 Palestinian men and women who said they had been sexually assaulted.

Kristof acknowledged that “there is no evidence that Israeli leaders order rapes,” but claimed Israel’s security system had created a culture in which sexual violence had become one of Israel’s “standard operating procedures.” The op-ed included graphic allegations from Palestinian prisoners and detainees.

The Israel Prison Service rejected the claims. “The allegations raised are false and entirely unfounded,” it said, adding that it operates according to law and under official oversight.

The Civil Commission report released Tuesday said Hamas and its collaborators carried out systematic and widespread sexual and gender-based violence during the October 7 massacre and against hostages in Gaza. The report was based on more than two years of investigation, including more than 400 testimonies and accounts, over 10,000 photos and videos, and more than 1,800 hours of visual material.

The commission said it identified recurring patterns of sexual and gender-based violence, including rape, gang rape, forced nudity, mutilation, sexual torture, threats of forced marriage, sexual violence against men and boys, and documentation and dissemination of the attacks.

“Our conclusion is unequivocal: sexual and gender-based violence constituted a central component of the October 7 attack and the period of captivity,” the commission said.

The report also noted the difficulty of documenting the crimes, citing murdered victims, burned bodies, chaotic conditions after the massacre and limited forensic evidence collection in the immediate aftermath.

Critics also questioned some of the sources cited by Kristof. Gazan-born anti-Hamas activist Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib wrote that “This reporting must not be weaponized to stoke antisemitism or collective blame. These are alleged acts by individuals, not an indictment of all Israelis or the Jewish people.”

NGO Monitor also criticized Kristof’s reliance on Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, accusing figures connected to the group of ties to Hamas and public association with Hamas leaders. Leiter also singled out Euro-Med in his criticism of the op-ed.

The commission called for dedicated mechanisms to investigate and prosecute sexual crimes committed during the massacre and in captivity. Its report came as the Knesset moved forward with legislation to establish specialized military courts to try Hamas terrorists accused of taking part in the October 7 attack.

“Israel will fight these lies with the truth,” the Foreign Ministry said, “and the truth will prevail.”