Hamas Fears Female Hostages Will Share Their Experience in Captivity; UN Condemns Oct. 7 Acts of Sexual Violence After Nearly 2 Months
On Monday, a US official revealed that Hamas likely refrained from releasing female hostages, leading to the termination of a weeklong cease-fire with Israel. The speculation is that the terrorist group is concerned about women speaking publicly about the sexual violence they endured in captivity.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller addressed concerns about growing evidence of rape and sexual abuse by Hamas on October 7. Miller suggested that the reluctance to release women captives might be linked to the fear of these individuals sharing their experiences publicly.
During a press briefing, Miller stated, “The fact that they continue to hold women hostages, the fact that they continue to hold children hostages, just the fact that it seems one of the reasons they don’t want to turn women over they’ve been holding hostage, and the reason this pause fell apart, is they don’t want those women to be able to talk about what happened to them during their time in custody.”
When pressed for details on the treatment of the women, Miller cited sensitivities around discussing captive conditions and opted not to provide specific information.
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Miller made a point to express his belief that the reports of sexual violence are indeed true, stating, “There is very little that I would put beyond Hamas when it comes to its treatment of civilians and particularly its treatment of women.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, has finally condemned the October 7 massacre perpetrated by Hamas. The condemnation comes eight weeks after the ambush on Israel by Hamas, an attack where women were subjected to brutal sexual assault.
“We unequivocally condemn the brutal attacks by Hamas on Israel on 7 October,” the statement begins. “We are alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks. This is why we have called for all accounts of gender-based violence to be duly investigated and prosecuted, with the rights of the victim at the core.”
The statement is technically the second condemnation from the women’s rights group. However, the first statement, released via social media, was deleted shortly after being posted.
Before the release of yesterday’s statement, the UN Women’s public comments about the Israel-Hamas war centered around Palestinian women without mention of the sexual atrocities experienced by Israeli women.
A protest outside of the UN brought attention to the lack of response from the organization, making the point that “believe all women” didn’t seem to apply to Jewish women. The Israeli women’s protest group leader, Shany Granot-Lubaton, released her own statement shortly after UN Women issued theirs.
“Good morning to Sima Bahous, who after 8 weeks, found it appropriate to condemn the atrocities committed against women and children on October 7. Unfortunately, you didn’t think this topic was worthy enough to dedicate one message only to this,” said Granot-Lubaton.
There are still 17 women being held hostage in Gaza, with Israeli officials claiming that Hamas doesn’t want to release them out of fear that they will recount the brutality of their time in captivity to the public.
