How 2 debunked accounts of sexual violence on Oct. 7 fueled a global dispute over Israel-Hamas war

JERUSALEM — Chaim Otmazgin had tended to dozens of shot, burned or mutilated bodies before he reached the home that would put him at the center of a global clash. The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, said Monday he had reason to believe that three key Hamas leaders bore responsibility for “rape and other acts of sexual violence as crimes against humanity.” Though the number of assaults is unclear, photo and video from the attack’s aftermath have shown bodies with legs splayed, clothes torn and blood near their genitals. A U.N. fact-finding team found “reasonable grounds” to believe that some of those who stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7 had committed sexual violence, including rape and gang rape. They were, she said, “mistakes.” FIRST ACCOUNT: PANTS PULLED DOWN Otmazgin said he was the origin of one of two debunked stories by ZAKA volunteers about sexual assault. “That’s why Palestinians, and much of the international community, are asking for thorough scrutiny.” Dahlia Scheindlin, a commentator on Israeli affairs, said those downplaying the atrocities committed by Hamas have seized on the debunked ZAKA accounts as “ammunition” to show that Israel fabricates or that Oct. 7 wasn’t so bad, rather than examining all the available evidence to build a more comprehensive picture of what happened.