5 March 2024
Hamas on Tuesday rejected a UN report claiming Palestinian militants committed “sexual violence” during their attack on Israel on October 7, saying the findings were simply “false claims,” said an AFP report.
The report by the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, “did not document any testimony from what she calls the victims of these cases,” Hamas said in a statement.
“She relied on Israeli institutions, soldiers and witnesses, who were chosen by the occupation authorities to push toward an attempt to prove this false accusation, which was refuted by all investigations.”
The UN report, released on Monday, said it had found “reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred” on October 7.
The Hamas attack resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 30,631 people, mostly women and children, according to Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry.
Around 250 hostages were taken by Hamas fighters, 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 who are presumed dead, according to Israel.
