Hamas has rejected a UN report claiming the Palestinian resistance fighters committed "sexual violence" during their operation against Israel on October 7, 2023.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Hamas said the report by Pramila Patten, the UN special representative on sexual violence, "did not document any testimony from what she calls the victims of these cases."
"She relied on Israeli institutions, soldiers and witnesses, who were chosen by the occupation authorities to push towards an attempt to prove this false accusation, which was refuted by all investigations."
The report, released on Monday, said it had found "reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred" on that October day.
"This false accusation will not succeed in obscuring the horror of the Zionist crimes, which are being committed in the Gaza Strip, and which resulted in the killing of nearly 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women, children, and civilians," the statement said.
Western media hyping Pramila Patten’s UN report as proof of “Hamas mass rape” left out a key section which
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) March 5, 2024
-states many sources retracted testimony previously given to media
-notes several “unfounded” assertions
-finds an Israeli bomb team altered a crime scene by moving bodies pic.twitter.com/IlvnDc6NyU
"Patten's allegations clearly contradict what emerged from the testimonies of Israeli women about the good treatment of them by resistance fighters, as well as the testimonies of released Israeli female prisoners, and what they confirmed of the good treatment they received during their captivity in Gaza."
"This report came after failed Israeli attempts to prove those false charges, which were confirmed to be baseless, aimed only at demonizing the Palestinian resistance and covering up the UN rapporteurs' report on compelling evidence of horrific human rights violations suffered by Palestinian women and girls by the Israeli occupation forces."
The Israeli regime launched hostilities in Gaza on October 7 after Hamas conducted its operation against the occupying entity in response to the regime’s never-ending atrocities against Palestinians.
The regime has killed at least 30,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under the rubble.