UN probes Hamas’ alleged rapes of attack victims

The United Nations is sending a representative to Israel to investigate accusations of sexual assault by Hamas terrorists during the 7 October attacks on the country, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

During her trip to Israel and the West Bank, Pramila Patten, the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, will “gather information on sexual violence reportedly committed in the context of the attacks of 7 October and its aftermath,” the UN secretary-general’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

“She is expected to meet with survivors, witnesses and others affected by sexual violence to identify avenues of support,” Dujarric said, adding that Patten also plans to meet with “recently released hostages and detainees.”

Patten will “be accompanied by experts in safe and ethical interviewing, forensic evidence, digital analysis and accountability,” he said, with the trip part of “the exercise of her mandate in accordance with a standard UN methodology.”

The UN has faced criticism for not responding quickly enough to victims’ accounts of rape and sexual assault allegedly committed during Hamas’s incursion into Israel.