2023-12-05 06:45:08
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 29 minutes ago, Updated 21 minutes ago
Women are still being held hostage in Gaza. AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP
The terrorist group derailed the renewal of the truce in Gaza because it does not want female rape victims to “talk about what happened to them while they were detained,” a US official said.
An American official said Monday that the renewal of the truce in Gaza has failed because Hamas, suspected of rapes against female hostages and sexual violence during its assault in early October, does not want them to testify. Israel had stopped its offensive in Gaza as part of an agreement negotiated under the aegis of Qatar and the United States providing for the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas during its deadly attack on Israeli soil on October 7. Israeli authorities said Friday they were resuming their military offensive because Hamas had not released all the female hostages.
Young Maya freed from the clutches of terrorists. OREN ZIV / AFP
“It seems that one of the reasons why they don’t want to release women that they’re holding hostage and why this break has been shattered is because they don’t want these women to tell what they are told. arrived during their detention”, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters. Israeli police said they were investigating possible sexual violence committed on October 7 by Hamas fighters, including gang rape and mutilation of corpses. Israeli investigators have so far collected “more than 1,500 shocking and painful testimonies”declared a policewoman last week in the Israeli Parliament, referring to “girls undressed above and below the waist” and reporting the testimony of the gang rape, mutilation and murder of a young woman.
Hamas has “rejected” these accusations, calling them “lies”. The American spokesperson declined to provide further details, emphasizing the sensitive nature of the issue, but said the United States had no “no reason to doubt” information on sexual violence attributed to Hamas. “There is very little that I think Hamas is not capable of when it comes to the treatment of civilians and particularly the treatment of women”he said.
The former Franco-Israeli hostage, Mia Schem. PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE / REUTERS
240 people were kidnapped and taken to the Gaza Strip, of whom 137 are still held hostage, according to the Israeli army. On October 7, Hamas commandos killed 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities.
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