Hamas might have dedicated rape, gang rape and “sexualised torture” on ladies throughout the 7 October assault on Israel, a UN envoy has mentioned.
In a report after spending about two weeks in Israel and the West Bank with a crew of 9 individuals, Pramila Patten concluded there are additionally “reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing”.
She mentioned the crew had “found clear and convincing information” that some hostages have been subjected to the identical types of conflict-related sexual violence together with rape and “sexualised torture”.
Hamas has beforehand rejected allegations that its fighters dedicated sexual assault.
Warning: Article comprises particulars of violence that some readers might discover distressing
Ms Patten and her crew visited Israel and the West Bank from 29 January to 14 February for a go to geared toward gathering and analysing info on potential sexual violence throughout the assaults.
They weren’t in a position to meet with any victims of sexual violence “despite concerted efforts to encourage them to come forward,” mentioned Ms Patten, the UN envoy specializing in sexual violence in battle.
However, crew members held greater than 30 conferences with Israeli establishments, and carried out interviews with 34 individuals together with survivors and witnesses of the assaults, hostages who’ve since been launched, well being officers and others.
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The crew gathered “credible circumstantial information, which may be indicative of some forms of sexual violence, including genital mutilation, sexualised torture, or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment”, mentioned the 24-page report.
It mentioned “there are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred during the 7 October attacks in multiple locations across Gaza periphery, including rape and gang rape, in at least three locations”.
The crew mentioned “several fully naked or partially naked bodies from the waist down were recovered – mostly women – with hands tied and shot multiple times, often in the head”.
One of the places talked about was the Nova music competition and its environment, the place “multiple incidents of sexual violence” might have taken place, “with victims being subjected to rape and/or gang rape and then killed or killed while being raped”.
The crew mentioned the go to “was neither intended nor mandated to be investigative in nature” and careworn a “fully-fledged investigation” can be required to determine the general magnitude, scope and particular attribution for the sexual violence.
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At Kibbutz Be’eri, Ms Patten mentioned her crew “was able to determine that at least two allegations of sexual violence widely repeated in the media, were unfounded due to either new superseding information or inconsistency in the facts gathered”.
The Hamas assaults left 1,200 individuals lifeless and about 250 others taken hostage.
Israel’s struggle towards Hamas has since left 30,000 lifeless within the Gaza Strip, in accordance with Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry.
1 / 4 of Gaza’s 2.3 million individuals face hunger, in accordance with the UN.
Source: information.sky.com”