Harris: I fear testimony on Hamas sexual violence will increase as more hostages released
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

US Vice President Kamala Harris expresses her concern that testimony on Hamas’s use of sexual violence will only increase as more hostages are released from Gaza.
Speaking at a White House event raising awareness on conflict-related sexual violence, Harris recalls stories she’s heard from former hostages, including Amit Sussana who was the first abductee to come forward publicly about the sexual abuse she endured in captivity.
Sussana is also participating in the White House event, which includes the screening of Sheryl Sandberg’s Screams Before Silence — a documentary on the sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas-led terrorists during the October 7 onslaught.
“On October 7, Hamas committed horrific acts of sexual violence,” Harris says in her remarks. “In the days after October 7, I saw images of bloodied Israeli women abducted… Hamas committed rape and gang rape at the Nova music festival, and women’s bodies were found naked from the waist down, hands tied behind their back[s] and shot in the head.”
“I’ve heard the stories of a former hostage of what she witnessed and heard in captivity. I just met with Amit, a survivor who has bravely come forward with her account of sexual violence while she was held captive by Hamas.”
“These testimonies, I fear, will only increase as more hostages are released.”
“We cannot look away and we will not be silent,” Harris says.
“My heart breaks for all these survivors and their families and for all the pain and suffering in the past eight months in Israel and in Gaza.”
In an apparent indirect reference to allegations of sexual violence perpetrated against Palestinian terror suspects by Israeli security forces — charges Israel has denied — Harris says, “We are deeply concerned by all reports of sexual violence and degradation, and we mourn every innocent life lost in this conflict.”
It is devastating, which is why President Biden and I have made clear that Hamas needs to accept the deal that is on the table for a ceasefire, which would bring the hostages home and lead to a permanent end to hostilities,” the vice president adds.