Watan-Accounts on social media platforms posted a picture purportedly showing a Ukrainian recruit who recently joined the Israeli army in the war on Gaza, where she reportedly suffered a violent sexual assault and rape. In the image, she appears in military attire, with what seems to be scars or bruises on her face.
Accompanying comments stated that the picture depicts a Ukrainian young woman who came to fight alongside the Israeli army in the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and that she was subjected to a violent sexual assault by Israeli soldiers.
4 soldiers raped a Ukrainian recruit who came to fight with the Israeli army in Gaza
The account that posted the picture on the X platform claimed that the Ukrainian recruit, Maria Kharchenko, came to fight in the ranks of the Israeli army, “but instead of being rewarded, she was raped by 4 Israeli soldiers and then imprisoned for a week to prevent exposure.
The account claimed that “Maria suffered genital tearing along with psychological shock, confusion, and severe fear.
However, searching for the image on social media reveals that it was posted in 2014, which denies the claim that it depicts a Ukrainian girl who recently volunteered for the Israeli army amid the war in Gaza, according to “AFP.”
The picture was also published on the Reuters website, and it depicts a female soldier in a military unit after completing her training in the Negev Desert on May 29, 2014.
This is not the first time news has surfaced about Israeli female recruits being raped by their fellow soldiers during the war on Gaza.