UN calls for investigation into reports that Israeli women were raped by Hamas terrorists during Oct. 7 attacks
UN Women has called for an investigation into reports of violence against women carried out by Hamas during the attacks on October 7. This comes after a number of anti-Israel activists have questioned the reports of Hamas brutalizing women and children during the attacks.
Reports of sexual assault and rape quickly emerged after Hamas’ attack against the Jewish state. Over the course of the past month, there have been testimony of witnesses and survivors of the brutal attacks, according to Business Insider.
Forensic teams have reportedly identified that victims of the attack were raped, tortured, and abused by Hamas fighters. Rabbi Israel Weiss — a former army chief rabbi — echoed the claims that bodies had shown signs of sexual abuse, including teenage girls.
The Washington Post carried out an investigation concerning the alleged rape and sexual assault of female victims, and one individual said that she had witnessed a gang rape at the Nora rave near Re’im while pretending to be dead.
The witness described how one man pulled the woman’s long hair and proceeded to rape her, and then passed her onto another man before shooting her in the head.
“He didn’t pick up his pants,” the witness said. “He shot her while inside her.”
“The torture of women was weaponized to destroy communities, to destroy a people, to destroy a nation,” Cochav Elkayam Levy, the head of a nongovernmental commission investigating crimes perpetrated against women and children, said.
However, Hamas has denied that its fighters committed any such acts, claiming that to sexually assault women would go against the principles of Islam.
Hamas official Basel Naim said that “any sexual relationship or activity outside of marriage [is considered] completely haram,” adding that “[w]hoever does this kind of act is committing a major infraction and would be punished both legally and on Judgment Day.”
Sima Bahous —UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director — shared with delegates that “women and girls are paying the highest price of conflicts,” especially with “[t]he situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question.”
Bahous went on to express that she was horrified by the reports of sexual assault and rape against women, saying: “Every act of violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, is unequivocally condemned, and must be fully investigated with the utmost priority.”
Bahous noted that she had heard from and met with Israeli women who have worked to document gender-based atrocities carried out during the war.
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