United Nations admits Hamas committed sexual violence on and after Oct. 7Thursday 07/03/2024

Pramila Patten, a senior UN official, came to Israel a month ago with a mandate to gather information on claims that Hamas terrorists ​had committed rape and other acts of sexual violence against Israeli women​ and men on October 7th. Her trip came after months of conspicuous silence on the matter from UN Women, and appalling statements from other UN officials that amounted to gaslighting and atrocity denial.

JIJ’s team of human rights lawyers and researchers met with Patten’s team on February 8th. We presented detailed testimony and gruesome photographs taken by first responders who had handled the bodies of the October 7th victims. Watch their public testimony HERE.

JIJ has UN consultative status, which gives us access to senior U.N. officials at critical moments like this. We chose to bring forth the evidence we had collected, for the sake of the murdered victims and living survivors who are still too traumatized for an invasive interrogation.

On Monday, Ms. Patten published her report, finding:

• “Reasonable grounds to believe that sexual violence occurred in multiple locations during the October 7th attacks, including rape and gang rape”
• “The recurring pattern of female victims found undressed, bound, and shot”
• “Clear and convincing information that sexual violence, including rape, sexualized torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment occurred against some women and children during their time in captivity and … that this violence may be ongoing.”

Read the full report HERE.

This is a rare and valuable admission from a senior UN official, that Hamas intentionally used sexual violence as a weapon of war. This rare moment of truth-telling wouldn’t have come without your support. 

JIJ does the painstaking work of collecting, interpreting, and presenting the evidence of human rights abuses in Israel and the Middle East. Our goal is to combat atrocity denial, fight for justice for the victims, validate the memories of the living survivors, and hold the perpetrators accountable.

We do this work within the UN, which has utterly failed so far to contend with reality:

• The UN General Assembly has refused to condemn Hamas.
• The UN Security Council still hasn’t recognized Hamas as a terrorist organization.
• The UN “Human Rights Council” was in session on October 7th and chose silence.
• Despite overwhelming evidence, most UN officials still refuse to acknowledge the atrocities committed on Oct 7.

With your support, we’ll continue standing up for Israel inside the UN system, fighting to release the captives, defund Hamas, and secure justice for all of Hamas’ victims.