UN Women condemns Hamas attacks and sexual violence
- UN Women faced mounting pressure to condemn Hamas
- More than 80 members of Congress urged UN women to condemn Hamas in a letter
- Testimonies of sexual violence against Israeli women emerged after the attacks
FILE – The symbol of the United Nations is displayed outside the Secretariat Building, Feb. 28, 2022, at United Nations Headquarters. The U.N. said Wednesday, April 5, 2023, that it cannot accept a Taliban decision to bar Afghan female staffers from working at the agency, calling it an “unparalleled” violation of women’s rights. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
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(NewsNation) — UN Women, the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment, condemned the brutalities and sexual violence of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas nearly two months after the incidents occurred.
“We unequivocally condemn the brutal attacks by Hamas on Israel on 7 October,” UN Women said in a statement on Friday. “We are alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks.”
The statement also expressed their “regret” that the seven-day humanitarian pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas had ended, which saw scores of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees released.
Prior to this statement, UN Women faced mounting pressure to condemn Hamas, particularly for sexual violence against women.
In a bipartisan letter signed by more than 80 members of Congress – led by Young Kim, R-Calif., and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick D-Fl. – lawmakers wrote, “We urge UN Women to maintain its credibility by publicly denouncing the atrocious violation of women’s rights by Hamas terrorists.”
“UN Women cannot expect to be viewed as an honest advocate for women’s rights if it continues to ignore Israeli women and women of other nationalities brutalized by Hamas terrorists on October 7th,” the lawmakers added.
Israel’s First Lady Michal Herzog penned an op-ed in Newsweek titled “The Silence From International Bodies Over Hamas’ Mass Rapes Is a Betrayal of All Women,” denouncing organizations like UN Women for their “unforgivable” silence during a “critical moment.”
“It is not that condemnations of gender-based violence by Hamas have been weak or insufficient – there have been none at all,” Herzog said. “The silence of international human rights organizations, and the unwillingness to believe Israeli women in the face of overwhelming evidence has been devastating.”
Testimonies of sexual violence against Israeli women began emerging days after Hamas’ attack at the Nova Music Festival in Re’im, Israel. Commander Shelly Harush of the Israel Police – who is leading the investigation into the onslaught on Oct. 7 – revealed that sexual violence ranged from rape to post-mortem mutilation.
Hamas has denied the allegations that its fighters engaged in the rape or assault of women.
