A UN report said sexual violence was “likely” in the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. The publication of the paper comes amid a new dispute between the UN and Israel.
A United Nations report considers sexual violence to be likely in the terrorist attack by the radical Islamist Hamas in Israel on October 7th. There is “legitimate reason to believe” that rapes and gang rapes occurred in at least three locations, according to the paper, which has now been published.
The report was prepared by the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, after a visit to Israel. Among these locations is the site of a music festival that was attacked by the terrorists on October 7, as well as a street and a kibbutz. “In most of these incidents, victims of rape were subsequently killed, and at least two incidents involved the rape of women’s corpses,” it said.
The report did not have the mandate to name culprits. A “comprehensive investigation” was needed, it said. The report also describes statements from “credible sources” who reported murdered women in various locations in Israel who were naked from the waist down, with their hands tied behind their backs, and who were killed with a gunshot to the head. In some cases they were “tied to structures such as trees and poles.”
Viewed more than 5,000 photos and 50 hours of video
Patten’s team’s investigation took place from late January to mid-February. There were dozens of meetings with representatives of Israeli authorities and organizations, and more than 5,000 photos and 50 hours of video were viewed. The United Nations conducted 34 interviews with witnesses.
The team did not speak to any surviving victims. 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.
The report goes on to say that there is “clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexual torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, has been perpetrated against hostages.” This may currently continue in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
But, said Patten, in Patten’s view these findings do not justify further violence, but rather underline the urgent need for a ceasefire. A continuation of the fighting would not protect the Israeli hostages from further sexual violence, according to the UN special representative: “A ceasefire should be a priority, especially for the well-being of the hostages.”
Israel Army: Terrorists kidnapped women as “slaves” on October 7th
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 that evening. The authenticity of the recordings could not initially be independently verified. A reaction from UNWRA to the allegations was initially pending.
UN report: Some allegations also “unfounded”
However, the United Nations report dismissed some allegations of violence as “unfounded”: “These included the highly publicized allegation of a pregnant woman whose uterus was reportedly ruptured before the killing and whose fetus was stabbed while still inside,” it said it. The paper also emphasized that there is also evidence of sexual violence against Palestinians in Israeli captivity.
The publication of the report is accompanied by a new dispute between Israel and the United Nations. Israel has long accused the world organization of failing to respond appropriately to the horrific crimes of October 7th. Yesterday, Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan also accused the UN in the General Assembly of making common cause with the Hamas terrorists and of wanting to sweep the sexual violence committed under the carpet.
Will this report wake you up? Will he change her priorities? Will you understand that a ceasefire would mean handing these women over to the sexually abusive Hamas monsters?
That evening, Israel’s Foreign Minister Katz announced that he would order his UN ambassador home for consultations. A UN spokesman denied that Secretary-General Guterres wanted to cover up the report on sexual violence.
UN paper: Ex-prisoners report abuse by Israel
Meanwhile, in an unpublished report by the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, former prisoners accuse Israel of ill-treatment in prisons. Hundreds of released people had reported “systematic humiliation” to UNRWA, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in the evening and confirmed the existence of the paper.
According to the reports, this involved, among other things, that the prisoners had to strip naked or they were “subject to verbal and psychological abuse”. “We know that sleep deprivation and extreme noise were often used to prevent people from sleeping,” Lazzarini continued. He also recounted how Palestinians said they had been forced to wear diapers “for days, if not weeks” and were denied access to toilets.
Lazzarini also indirectly confirmed an article in the New York Times. It said UNRWA had compiled a previously unpublished report detailing “a range of ill-treatment suffered by Gazans of all ages” in detention centers in Israel. The report concluded, according to the newspaper, that this treatment “was used to extort information or confessions, to intimidate and humiliate, and to punish.”
With information from Antje Passenheim, ARD New York