The US Mission to the United Nations on Monday called for a wide condemnation of Hamas’ sexual crimes during its October 7 attack against Israel.
The call followed a special session hosted by Israel's Mission to the UN which focused on the sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists against Israeli women and girls on October 7.
“Today, at the United Nations, we heard sobering testimony of Hamas’ rape and other forms of sexual assault of innocent civilians on October 7th,” the US Mission wrote on X.
“We call on all to unequivocally condemn acts of gender-based violence,” it added.
After weeks of ignoring Hamas’ sexual violence during the October 7 attack, UN Women on Friday issued its first condemnation of the brutality.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen called the conduct of UN Women “disgraceful” and urged its executive director to resign.
Last week, nearly two months after the October 7 attack, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres finally acknowledged that Hamas committed acts of sexual violence during the attack.
Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said in response, “The Secretary-General's words only sharpen the fact that when it comes to Israeli women, sexual violence that has been proven by state authorities still needs to be ‘investigated.’ For him, when it comes to Israeli women, you can doubt the facts and wait 55 days to call an unknown party to conduct an ‘investigation.’ He does not acknowledge that Hamas committed these crimes!”