In recent months, information about rape and sexualized violence during the attack by Hamas has provoked strong reactions, both in Israel and internationally. Evidence collected by Israeli organizations has long indicated that Hamas fighters have committed sexual violence against women in several places in Israel, according to the AP news agency. On Wednesday afternoon, the Association for Rape Crisis Centers in Israel presented a longer report which shows that the attacks were more widespread than previously thought. The report is discussed in a number of international media. Protesters wearing blood make-up outside BBC headquarters in London. They believe international newspapers do not cover the sexual assaults that took place on 7 October well enough. London, 4 February 2024. Photo: HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP May have been raped in front of family Israeli police say they are investigating cases ranging from gang rapes to corpse desecration. A spokesperson said last week that they have collected more than 1,500 “shocking and difficult testimonies”. According to the report, some cases of rape may have been carried out in front of partners, family or friends. There are no eyewitnesses to this, according to the report, the information is mainly based on findings at crime scenes. A number of newspapers, including the American newspaper The New York Times, have revealed that several sexual assaults took place during the attack on October 7, in which around 1,200 Israelis were killed. Hamas has previously rejected the allegations that they allegedly committed sexual assaults. AMNESTY: Gerald Folkvord wants an independent investigation into the events that took place on 7 October. Photo: Frida Marie Grande / Photographer: Frida Marie Grande Want an independent investigation – Rape and other sexual abuse are often used as weapons in war, says Gerald Folkvord, political adviser at Amnesty to news. He says it is important to investigate the events that took place on October 7. – Sexual assault in armed conflict is a war crime and important to shed light on, he says. Folkvord says at the same time that he wishes that the Israeli authorities did not stand in the way of an independent investigation of the tragic events that took place that day. – We have tried to investigate this independently, but we have never been given access to independent evidence or to people who were exposed to it or are witnesses, says Folkvord. Tent from the music festival. More than 300 people were killed here on 7 October. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg / AP He says that they have only had access to material that comes from the Israeli Defense Forces or from the Israeli authorities. – It is a big challenge if you want to try to form an independent picture of what has happened, he says and adds that it does not mean that the information in today’s report is not correct. Israeli authorities say they are trying to protect rape victims and therefore do not want to release information about the victims. – The most important thing is to take care of rape victims, but if you are to try to understand what has happened and to hold someone responsible for it, then it must be possible with an independent investigation, says Folkvord. RAPE BY HAMAS: Demonstrators hold a banner reading “Rape by Hamas” during a demonstration in Paris. 1 December 2023. Photo: Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP Demanding more from the UN The report indicates that the sexual assaults must have taken place in four main locations: in the music festival where more than 360 people were killed, in the neighborhoods on the border with Gaza, military bases that were overrun by Hamas, and places where hostages were held in Gaza. Hamas has denied that this happened, but the leader of the association says that the report removes all doubt about what happened. – Silence is no longer an option. We expect international organizations to take a clear stand, says the leader of the committee that wrote the report, Orit Sulitzeanu. The organization writes that systematic and targeted sexual abuse against women took place in the attack. Men and children were also victims of sexual violence, according to the report. The report does not mention the number of cases it has documented. It also does not name the victims. Sulitzeanu explains this by saying that the work to identify the victims has been difficult because many were killed after the rapes.
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Believes Hamas carried out systematic rapes – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
