Hostages’ families, FM Katz head to NY for UNSC session on Oct. 7 sexual violence report

A number of hostages’ families as well as Foreign Minister Israel Katz are en route to New York to attend an upcoming United Nations Security Council session on the sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas terrorists during the October 7 killing spree and against hostages held in Gaza.

The Security Council will hold an emergency session later Monday to discuss the report issued last week by the UN’s envoy on sex crimes, Pramila Patten, detailing the sexual violence.

Requests for the session were made by Security Council members — the US, the UK and France.

The 24-page report, based on more than two weeks of meetings on the ground, states that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that Hamas committed rape and sexual abuse during its murderous rampage on October 7, and that there is an even higher standard of evidence to indicate that hostages kidnapped by Hamas that day were subject to rape in captivity.

Israel in response accused the UN of playing down the report and dragging its feet on looking into the allegations, while trying to silence the accusations — something the UN secretary general swiftly denied.

Presenting the report at a press conference at UN Headquarters in New York last week Patten said there was “clear and convincing information that sexual violence including rape, sexualized torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” was committed against hostages being held in captivity in the Strip by Hamas.

In addition, she said, there are “reasonable grounds” to believe that such violence is still ongoing against those hostages still in captivity in Gaza.

Patten said that based on her evidence-gathering, there are reasonable grounds to believe that “rape and gang rape” occurred during the October 7 attacks in at least three locations: the Supernova music festival site, Kibbutz Re’im, and along the nearby Route 232.

In most such instances, she said, evidence shows that victims were “first subjected to rape and then killed,” noting as well “two incidents” pointing to the rape of women’s corpses.

The music festival grounds, Patten said, was the site of “brutal mass murders,” noting that many bodies were found extensively burned or disfigured, and that there was also a “recurring pattern of victims found fully or partially undressed, bound and shot.”