The motivation for the sexual offensive by Hamas on October 7—taken captive, body and soul, as a means of restoring dignity

This article examines the cultural-religious perspective as one motivation behind Hamas’s planned, systematic sexual offensive on October 7th. By reviewing ancient cultural, religious, and symbolic traditions, we identify elements that have established what Hamas’s ideological framework portrays as “sacred violence.” We address the significance of sexual crime as another tactic and weapon employed by Hamas in the offensive. We explain this through connections to women’s status and the perception of sexuality in the Arab world, the “culture of shame,” the patriarchal sexual motif, and how they are woven into national discourse as a metaphor for a conquered, invaded, and penetrated motherland. Hamas’s motivation for the sexual offensive against Israel appears to stem not from gender or sexual impulses, but primarily as the sole means to “wash away” the insult, restore respect, and sow fear. The desecration of body and soul is seen as an expression of national conquest, control, subjugation, and humiliation. Symbolically and literally, the damage to the spirit, dignity, and stability of the entire Israeli society is interpreted within Hamas’s ideological worldview as a form of “sacred retribution” that enables the restoration of national honor and the redefinition of the relationship of powers.