Hamas, however, has denied that its gunmen assaulted women.
Hamas, however, has denied that its gunmen assaulted women.
A U. N. team has concluded that there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that Hamas’ attacks in Israel on Oct. 7 were committed with sexual violence, in addition to rape and gang rape.
They also said there was “convincing information” that the hostages had suffered sexual violence.
The meeting was led by Pramila Patten, UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict.
Hamas has denied that its gunmen sexually assaulted in the attacks.
“The project team found that there are moderate reasons for conflict-related sexual violence to have occurred in several locations during the October 7 attacks,” the UN report says.
The events took place in at least three places: the Nova Music Festival venue and its surroundings, Route 232 and Kibbutz Reim, he added.
Hamas gunmen infiltrated southern Israel on October 7, killing an estimated 1,200 more people and taking 253 hostage.
Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, in which another 30,500 people were killed, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Reports of sexual violence perpetrated through Hamas (which is a banned terrorist organization in Israel, the United Kingdom, and others) began to emerge shortly after October 7 and have been piling up ever since.
The BBC has also observed and heard testimonies of rape, sexual violence and female genital mutilation.
In the report, the UN states that it has “found transparent and convincing evidence that sexual violence, in addition to rape, sexualized torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, has been committed against hostages. “
He also said he “has moderate reason to believe that such violence could continue against those still in captivity. “
The UN visited Israel between January 29 and February 14.
The project, made up of Patten and nine experts, is not investigative in nature but is designed to collect and determine allegations, the U. N. said.
He added that 33 meetings were held with Israeli representatives and that more than 5,000 photographs and 50 hours of video were reviewed.
The report states that “despite concerted efforts to encourage” patients to come forward, the team was unable to interview any of them.
Some allegations of rape and sexual violence may simply not have been verified or are “unfounded,” the report says, adding the high-profile case of a pregnant woman whose uterus was allegedly torn apart and her fetus stabbed.
It also stated that it had not been able to identify a discernible trend in female genital mutilation.
“Israel welcomes the definitive acknowledgment that Hamas committed crimes,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat said in reaction to the report’s release.
He added that Israel now “calls for the prompt convening of the [UN] Security Council with the aim of designating Hamas as a terrorist organization and applying foreign sanctions against it. “
However, Haiat rejected the UN team’s report that it had also received reports of sexual violence against Palestinian men and women in places of detention, house searches and checkpoints after 7 October.
“This is a ridiculous and planned Palestinian move to create an unbearable equivalence between the horrific crimes that have been committed and continue to be committed through Hamas and the malicious and baseless accusations leveled against Israel and Israelis. “
Israel has rejected the allegations made earlier through an organization of independent UN experts, calling them “despicable and baseless. “
Haiat also said Israel opposed the report’s advice that the country cooperate with the U. N. ‘s foreign commission of inquiry, which seeks to investigate conceivable war crimes committed by all sides.
He charged that the investigation was aimed at Israel.
Separately, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Monday recalled his country’s ambassador to the U. N. for “consultations,” accusing the organization of “trying to silence the U. N. report on mass violations. “
He criticized U. N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for not convening the Security Council to discuss the findings and claim that Hamas is a terrorist organization.
U. N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres “fully supported” Patten’s work on his stop in Israel.
“The Secretary-General has in no way kept the report ‘silent’. In fact, the report is being presented publicly today,” said Mr Dujarric.
(BBC)
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