UN report on sexual violence
Hamas raped – and probably continues to do so
March 5, 2024, 4:21 a.m
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In their attack on Israel, Hamas and its allies not only murdered and pillaged, but also tortured and raped. This is now confirmed by a report from the United Nations. Meanwhile, Israel is presenting audio documents that are supposed to show that the terrorists specifically abducted women as “slaves” to the Gaza Strip.
According to UN research, there was most likely rape in the attack by the radical Islamic Hamas on Israel on October 7th. There are “valid reasons” for this assumption, says a report by the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten. Hostages kidnapped by Hamas in the Gaza Strip were also most likely raped. Patten said he received “clear and convincing information” that hostages held by Hamas were being raped. This information also led to the belief “that such violence continues against those still held.”
The United Nations had been accused of reacting too slowly to Israel’s allegations of rape and sexual violence during the brutal October 7 attack. In February, Patten traveled to Israel for several days. There she spoke to survivors, witnesses and security forces. The UN special representative also met Israelis who had been released from Hamas hostage detention. Despite a call from Patten for victims of sexual violence to testify to the acts committed against them, no victim came forward. The report attributed this, on the one hand, to their ongoing trauma and, on the other hand, to the victims’ “lack of trust” in international organizations such as the UN.
Israel accuses UN of “silence”.
Patten’s team reviewed more than 5,000 photos and 50 hours of video footage. The now published report states, among other things: Based on the information received “from multiple and independent sources, there are strong reasons to believe that sexual violence related to the conflict occurred during the attack on October 7th in several locations on the periphery the Gaza Strip, including rape and gang rape.” This happened in at least three places: at the Nova festival, on a street and in a kibbutz.
The publication of the report was accompanied by a new dispute between the United Nations and Israel. UN Secretary-General António Guterres rejected Israeli accusations that he wanted to suppress the report. “The work was done thoroughly and expeditiously. The Secretary-General did not attempt in any way to keep the report ‘silent,'” said his spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Israel had previously recalled its ambassador to the United Nations. The reason was an attempt to “keep quiet information about the mass rapes committed by Hamas and its allies on October 7th,” said Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz.
Israel: UNRWA employees abducted women as “slaves”
Israel’s military has now released audio recordings intended to prove that women were also abducted as “slaves” during the attack on Israel on October 7th. The voices of men can be heard in the recordings, which are said to be from the day of the invasion. According to Israeli reports, these were also employees of the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA. For example, the teacher at a UNRWA school is said to have said that he had captured a “slave,” army spokesman Daniel Hagari said at a press conference. The authenticity of the recordings could not initially be independently verified. UNWRA has not responded to the allegations.
According to Israeli sources, the man used the Arabic word “sabaija” in the conversation. The term refers to women and children who are personal property of a Muslim, Hagari said. But it also means “servant” and “slave”. In the language of the terrorist militia IS (Islamic State), which had temporarily ruled large parts of Syria and Iraq, women – especially from the Yazidi minority – were sexually abused using this term. In addition, another terrorist can be heard in an audio recording describing a woman in his power as a “noble mare”. This information could not initially be independently verified.
Five months after the attack on Israel by Hamas and allied groups, it is unclear how many of the remaining 130 hostages in the Gaza Strip are still alive. “Of the prisoners, we don’t know exactly who is alive and who is dead,” said former Hamas health minister Bassem Naim to the AFP news agency. “There are multiple prisoners, held by multiple groups in multiple locations,” Naim said. Some of the hostages were “killed in attacks or through starvation.” The exact number of hostages alive and killed can only be verified after a ceasefire.
Such a ceasefire and the release of the hostages are currently being negotiated under international mediation in Cairo. There are currently negotiated proposals on the table that would halt fighting in the Gaza Strip for six weeks. In return, Hamas should release Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.