On the morning of October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a brutal surprise attack on the State of Israel. Amidst the chaos created by this attack, severe and systematic sexual crimes were committed against Israeli citizens and others who crossed the attackers’ path. The widespread chaos disrupted the functioning of Security, Emergency, and Medical (SEM) forces responsible for providing the first and secondary responses in terror zones. It has also significantly impaired the state’s mechanisms for identifying and proving these heinous crimes.

Despite accumulating testimonies and field indications, the world often responded with denial or silence, undermining efforts to achieve recognition for the victims and accountability for the perpetrators.
This situation raises a fundamental question: How can a strong, modern state, find itself struggling to substantiate such grave crimes at the evidentiary level, with their scope rising to crimes against humanity?

The RAIA Project was initiated to address these gaps, acknowledge the severe implications of chaos on evidence loss, and propose tools and mechanisms for effective identification and documentation of sexual crimes in terror and other chaotic zones in the future. Its mission is to ensure recognition for victims and to prevent terror organizations and militants from exploiting the chaos they create to evade accountability for their actions.