Files of sexual violence An American official estimated that the renewal of the ceasefire in Gaza failed because the Islamist movement opposed the release of female hostages so that they would not testify about the abuses they suffered.
An American official estimated that the Gaza ceasefire renewal failed in part because Hamas wanted to silence the women being held hostage, possibly victims of sexual violence. “It seems that one of the reasons why they don’t want to release women they are holding hostage and why this breach has broken is because they don’t want these women to tell what they are told. They arrived while in custody,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told the press on Monday, December 4.
The American spokesman declined to provide further details, emphasizing the sensitive nature of the issue but stating that the United States had “no reason to doubt the information about sexual violence attributed to Hamas.” “There is very little that I think Hamas is not capable of when it comes to the treatment of civilians and particularly women,” he added.
Israel had halted its offensive in Gaza under a deal negotiated under the auspices of Qatar and the United States that included the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas during its bloody attack on Israeli soil on October 7. Priority was given to releasing minors, mothers and older women.
Israeli authorities said on Friday they would resume their military offensive because the terrorist organization had not released all of its female hostages. As of Thursday morning, 19 civilians, including a minor, and five military wives were still being held captive in Gaza. The majority of them are under 30 years old.
Israeli police are also investigating possible sexual violence committed by Hamas militants on October 7, including gang rape and body mutilation. Israeli investigators have so far collected “more than 1,500 shocking witness statements,” a police officer told Israel’s parliament last week. She spoke of “girls stripped naked above and below the waist” and detailed testimony about the gang rape, mutilation and murder of a young woman.
The majority of victims will “never be able to testify”
She quoted another witness who reported gunshot wounds to the “genitals, abdomen, legs and buttocks.” […], chest injuries or gunshot wounds,” while rescuers reported that a woman’s body was “bleeding from the genital areas.” But “the vast majority of victims of the October 7 rapes and other sexual assaults were murdered and will never be able to testify,” Cochav Elkayam Levy, president of the October 7 Parliamentary Commission on Crimes Against Women, said in November.
Hamas “rejected these accusations and called them “lies.” UN Women – the UN’s gender equality department – said it was aware of concerns in Israel and had met with Israeli women’s organizations to “listen to their horrific stories about the events of October 7” and “address them as much as possible help”. to expose gender-based atrocities, including sexual violence.”
Since the adoption of Resolution 1820 on June 19, 2008 by the UN Security Council, rape has been a war crime against humanity and a crime constituting the crime of genocide.