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Following a 17-day visit to Israel, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict reported on Monday that she and a team of experts had found “clear and convincing information” of rape and sexualized torture being committed against hostages seized during the 7 October terror attacks.
news.un.org
Pramila Patten added in a press release issued along with
the report that there are also reasonable grounds to believe that such violence, which includes other “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment”, may be continuing against those still being held by Hamas and other extremists in the Gaza Strip.
The report from her Office arose from an official visit to Israel at the invitation of the Government which included a visit to the occupied West Bank, between 29 January and 14 February.
In the context of the coordinated attack by Hamas and others of 7 October, the UN mission team found that there are
reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred in multiple locations, including rape and gang rape in at least three locations in southern Israel.
The team also found a pattern of victims - mostly women - found fully or partially naked, bound and shot across multiple locations which “may be indicative of some forms of sexual violence”.
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U.N. finds 'clear and convincing' information that hostages have been raped in Gaza
A senior U.N. official also found “reasonable grounds to believe” accounts of rape and gang rape during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
A senior United Nations official found “clear and convincing” information that hostages have been raped and sexually abused in Gaza and “reasonable grounds” to believe sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, occurred during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack led by Hamas.
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“Based on the information it gathered, the mission team found clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment has been committed against hostages," the U.N. said in a report, adding that it "has reasonable grounds to believe that such violence may be ongoing against those still held in captivity.”
Pramila Patten, the secretary-general’s special representative on sexual violence in conflict, said in the 23-page report that she was unable to determine the exact scope of sexual violence that occurred Oct. 7. She concluded that finding the precise number of sexual assaults and identifying the perpetrators of such crimes would require a full-fledged investigatio