Gazan women living under Hamas rule are describing sexual abuse by men in senior positions, sexual extortion in exchange for aid or money, and exploitation by those in positions of power, according to testimonies obtained by the Daily Mail. The accounts are emerging amid growing concern that the terrorist organization reasserts control in the Gaza Strip, as global attention is fixed on Iran.
In one testimony, a Gazan man who remained anonymous described how he discovered that a widow displaced from her home during the war had been sexually harassed inside a tent by a group of Hamas terrorists and forced into silence. “A friend’s wife contacted us. She had asked a commander in the Al-Qassam Brigades for help, but he exploited her,” he said. “His behavior is disgraceful. We investigated and found her in a tent in the Gharabli area, where a group of Qassam men exploited her. We reported it to the leadership, but we were told we had to stay quiet about it.”
Women living under Hamas rule in Gaza describe to the Mail how they are sexually abused by the terror group’s fighters and forced to have sex in return for food aid https://t.co/Kz6ILmABHn
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) April 18, 2026
Another Gazan man confirmed that a similar case happened to one of his neighbors, who was blackmailed by “one of Hamas’ charity organizations. They wanted her to prostitute herself in exchange for a food parcel, an aid voucher or 100 shekels.”
Another man, who identified himself as a member of the Al-Qassam Brigades, confirmed to the Daily Mail that this is the situation facing widows. He said he had reported to the leadership that some Qassam members were exploiting “martyrs’ widows” in a tent in the Gharabli area of Deir al-Balah.
He said he was ordered to remain silent. “We told them this was an insult to our honor and pride,” he said, adding that he destroyed the tent in anger. These testimonies come against the backdrop of broader allegations of sexual violence during the conflict, including testimony from several hostages such as Romi Gonen and Arbel Yehoud, who told the Daily Mail that she was sexually abused every day in captivity after being abducted from her kibbutz on October 7, 2023.
Meanwhile, Hamas, which has refused to disarm as part of a ceasefire agreement, continues to rule the Gaza Strip with an iron fist. According to sources on the ground who spoke to the Daily Mail, the exploitation of vulnerable women and girls is routine.
Abdullah, a pseudonym, a journalist with Jusoor News, spoke to the Daily Mail from his hiding place out of fear that the organization would find him. “Unfortunately, there are many such cases. It is a very widespread phenomenon. In every area, many women are exploited, especially widows and divorcees, because they have no support or income. Their vulnerability is being exploited, and the situation is getting worse by the day.”
Noor, also a pseudonym, a divorced mother of four who was displaced from her home during the war, spoke to the Daily Mail from Gaza in a whisper over the phone for fear of being caught. She described sexual coercion in exchange for aid, which began when a religious figure started harassing her at the lowest point of her life: “I wasn’t getting any aid, so I went to a charity. A man there, who looked religious and respectable, promised to help me. I am a mother of four, displaced by the war and not part of a recognized displacement camp, so I got no assistance. I went to an Islamic charity that distributes aid to the displaced and needy in Gaza. I was received by a man who looked religious, like a sheikh. He said he would stand by me and help me. I told him I was separated from my husband. He said, ‘Oh, separated? A beautiful woman like you?'”
He took Noor’s phone number, which she said she believed would lead to fatherly support, but instead he suggested a late-night video call.
“From the beginning, the way he spoke to me felt like harassment. I’m much younger than him. I trusted him because he was an older man. I saw him as a father figure. He’s my father’s age, but he harassed me directly. I was afraid, of course. He chased after me. I asked him how he could speak to me like that, and I told him he should be ashamed. I said I would expose him. He said, ‘You cannot expose me. I am the government here.'”
Noor said this reflects a broader pattern in which vulnerable women become targets because they have no breadwinner and depend on aid. “They exploit women’s distress, but the women are too afraid to speak.”
Another woman said: “Someone will tell you, ‘Come, we have an aid package for you.’ He represents an Islamic organization, but it is a political organization. He says, ‘If you come with me and do this and that, I’ll give you this and that,’ and the women, who have no life experience, find themselves being exploited.” She added: “This should not be happening at all, absolutely not. One charity in Gaza is unfortunately the biggest perpetrator of these acts. From its chairman to its doorman, it is done by all the employees and members there, as if the organization was set up for the purpose of sexual harassment, psychological abuse and the harassment of young women.”
During the war in the Gaza Strip, AP documented several incidents in 2025, including the case of a 38-year-old woman who believed she would finally receive the help she needed for her six children. After weeks of struggle, she was told that a certain man could help her with food, aid and work.
She turned to him after being separated from her husband and forced to close her business, but then he took her to an empty apartment, complimented her and ordered her to remove her head covering. She said he told her he loved her and would not force her, but at the same time would not let her leave. Eventually, she said, sexual contact took place. She declined to provide further details, saying she felt fear and shame.
“I had to cooperate because I was afraid. I wanted to get out of that place,” she told AP. Before she left, she was given 100 shekels. Two weeks later, she received a box of medicine and a food parcel. “The job she had been promised never materialized,” the report said.
Abdullah added: “Hamas exploited media channels and spread exaggerated or false numbers. Hamas lied about everything. They stole the aid, created the hunger narrative, and the naive West believes it. They have no respect for anyone.” He described threats to his life, including armed men arriving at the place where he was staying. “If I had been there, they would have shot me.”
