The UN team has discovered “reasonable grounds to believe” that on October 7, when Hamas assaulted Israel, sexual violence, including gang rape, occurred.
Remarkably, the “definitive recognition that Hamas committed sexual crimes” was acknowledged by Israel’s foreign ministry.
According to spokeswoman Lior Haiat, the UN Security Council ought to declare Hamas a terrorist group and apply international penalties to it.
Hamas dismissed the UN report as “baseless and only aimed at demonizing the Palestinian resistance”.
The organization disputes claims that its members mistreated female hostages they carried to Gaza or sexually molested women during the operations.
The UN Special Representative on Sexual Abuse in Conflict, Pramila Patten, stated that her team had “found clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” against hostages. She informed reporters that there were “reasonable grounds” to suspect that such brutality was “ongoing against those still held in captivity”.
“Reasonable grounds to believe” attacks in Israel involved rapes
According to a UN investigation, there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, was committed during the Oct. 7 Hamas-led onslaughts on Israel and that some Israeli hostages suffered from it while being held captive in Gaza. Due to what its officials claim is anti-Israel bias, Israel has barred the U.N. human rights office from conducting such an inquiry.
Nevertheless, it is the most comprehensive study to date on the topic of sexual assault on October 7 produced by a non-Israeli independent organization.
The conclusions are based on several interviews that were done over a 17-day tour to Israel in January and February with assault survivors, bystanders, first responders, and medical professionals. In addition, the U.N. experts and researchers looked over 5,000 images and almost 50 hours of video from the assaults.
According to the investigation, at least three places were probably the scene of rapes on October 7. Additionally, researchers discovered “clear and convincing information” on the sexualized abuse and rape of captives in Gaza, raising the possibility that this brutality may continue.
In all, the Oct. 7 attack claimed the lives of around 1,200 people and left 240 others captive.
Israel Criticizes UN Handling of Sexual Assault Report
Israel has accused the United Nations of failing to respond to a U.N. report revealing evidence of sexual violence during Hamas‘s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The report found “reasonable grounds” to believe that sexual violence occurred in at least three locations: the Nova music festival site, Route 232 highway, and Kibbutz Reim. Although Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups claimed responsibility, the report did not attribute the violence to any specific armed group.
The report also detailed clear and convincing information that now-freed hostages experienced sexual violence, including rape, while in Hamas captivity in Gaza. The ongoing Israeli disputes with the United Nations and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas highlight the ongoing tensions between the two nations. The team did not visit Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz condemned Guterres for not convening the U.N. Security Council to discuss the report’s findings and designate Hamas as a terrorist organization. However, according to U.N. bylaws, the secretary-general does not have the authority to convene the Security Council. Israel also recalled its ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, for consultations in protest of Guterres’ efforts to forget the report and avoid necessary decisions.
Women’s rights teams keep mute when women say that Hamas has raped them
A survivor of the approximately 360-person Supernova music event related how she saw Israeli girls being raped by Hamas terrorists.
The witness recalled, “As I am hiding, I see in the corner of my eye that [a terrorist] is raping her. I realized they were raping her and just giving her to the next [terrorist] when they bent her over.”
However, a large number of feminist and women’s rights organizations throughout the globe have stayed remarkably silent, with some even doubting the accuracy of the charges.
There are significant ramifications to Hamas’s denial of the sexual abuse it committed, one of which is discouraging other victims of sexual abuse from getting assistance.
Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) by employing 450 people who are military operatives in terror groups in Gaza. The dispute between Israel and the U.N. secretary-general came one day after Israel accused UNRWA of employing 450 people in Gaza.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini claimed that Israel detained several agency staff members and forced them to give false confessions on alleged UNRWA ties to Hamas. This is part of a “deliberate and concerted campaign to undermine” UNRWA operations, aiming to eliminate its role in protecting the rights of Palestinian refugees and acting as a witness to their plight.
