The UN has not forgotten the Oct 7 massacre either.
UN experts say alleged sexual torture by Hamas on October 7 may amount to crimes against humanity
Experts at the United Nations say crimes committed against civilians during Hamas' October 7 attacks on Israel amounted to war crimes and could qualify as crimes against humanity.
In a statement from Geneva, the experts — Alice Jill Edwards, a special rapporteur on torture and other punishment, and Morris Tidball-Binz, a special rapporteur on "extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions" — called for full accountability for the widespread killings and alleged sexual torture.
“As armed Palestinian groups rampaged through communities in Israel bordering the Gaza strip, thousands of people were subjected to targeted and brutal attacks, the vast majority of whom were civilians,” the statement said. “The growing body of evidence about reported sexual violence is particularly harrowing."
The UN experts said that allegations of sexual torture included rape and gang rapes and that there were mutilations and gunshot wounds to genital areas of victims as well as other signs of sexual violence.
“These acts constitute gross violations of international law, amounting to war crimes which, given the number of victims and the extensive premeditation and planning of the attacks, may also qualify as crimes against humanity," the experts said.
Hamas has repeatedly denied allegations that its fighters committed sexual violence during the attack despite the evidence.
How many of those testimonies are reliable doesn't really matter. Not sure why there is a debate on whether it was a crime against humanity. If Wikepedia is accurate on the definition, then yes it was. (Next to being the worst terrorist attack since the Camp Speicher Massacre in 2014 and the 3rd deadliest terrorist attack in history)
Apart from the sexual violence, Hamas has never denied nor prosecuted anyone for killing and kidnapping Israelis. It was not an isolated event, nor sporadic, the tit for tat has been going on from before Hamas even took control of Gaza. So apart from a horrific terrorist attack on its own, it fits the definition of crimes against humanity.
Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic criminal acts which are committed by or on behalf of a de factoauthority, usually by or on behalf of a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war.[1] They are not isolated or sporadic events because they are part of a government policy or they are part of a widespread practice of atrocities which is tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority.[2] They do not need to be part of an official policy, but they only need to be tolerated by authorities.
CNN didn't bother to report the end of the statement, still no impartial investigation allowed
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/01/un-experts-demand-accountability-victims-sexual-torture-and-unlawful
“We are deeply conscious of the active conflict in Gaza and Israel and the severe humanitarian crisis. We urge all parties to agree a ceasefire, abide by international law, and investigate any crime alleged during the armed conflict,” the experts said.
The experts recall their previous statement on the need for independent and impartial investigations for all rights violations, including those in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
They have already raised these issues through a letter addressed to the State of Palestine as the official UN Observer State and party to relevant human rights and humanitarian law treaties. A copy of the letter was also sent to the de facto authorities in Gaza [Hamas] which claimed responsibility for the overall attack and bears command responsibility as well as has human rights obligations in light of their exercise of government-like functions. A copy was also sent to the Government of Israel, which has territorial jurisdiction over the crimes.
Israel doesn't want anyone to see what they're doing
Israeli Supreme Court rejects petition to ease Gaza access for foreign journalists
A petition presented to the court by the Foreign Journalists Association asking for reporters to enter Gaza without an Israeli military escort has been rejected, the Israeli news website Walla says. The report said the court argued that allowing journalists in would endanger the Israeli military.
Almost every foreign reporter who has entered Gaza since the beginning of the war has travelled with the Israeli military, adhering to military rules and agreeing to allow footage to be reviewed by the military before its publication.
Critics of the policy argue that the restrictions against the entry of journalists into Gaza are an attempt by Israel to prevent coverage of its attacks, which have killed more than 23,000 Palestinians.
Israeli bombardment kills two more Palestinian journalists: Gaza government
Gaza’s Government Media Office has confirmed the deaths of two more Palestinian journalists – Abdullah Baris and Muhammad Abu Dayer.
“They were martyred by the ongoing Israeli occupation bombing of the Gaza Strip,” it said.
The total number of journalists killed in Gaza since October 7 has now reached 112, the office said.
And this doesn't bode much confidence in Israel playing the victim
AIPAC mobilises against US Senate resolution to investigate Israeli abuses
The pro-Israel lobby group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has sent an email to supporters asking them to contact their US senators in opposition to the measure that was introduced by Vermont’s Senator Bernie Sanders last month.
The resolution would require the secretary of state to produce a report on Israel’s human rights practices within 30 days.
Biden is seeking more than $10bn in additional military aid to Israel, but US law prohibits security assistance to countries that engage “in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights”.
“For decades, both Republican and Democratic administrations have provided support and security assistance to Israel without linking our aid to specific Israeli policies,” AIPAC said in its email. “Such conditioning would undermine US national security interests.”
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