Israel, under the guidance of Foreign Minister Israel Katz, is appealing to eight member states of the United Nations Security Council, asking them to demand an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council following report on Hamas sexual violence during the massacre on October 7, Ynet has learned.
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The appeal will be made to the U.S., Great Britain, France, Malta, Ecuador, Japan, Switzerland and Slovenia - countries that Jerusalem believes share common values with Israel – over the report that stated that on the day the war against Hamas in Gaza began, sexual violence occurred in several places, including rape, sexual torture and gang rape.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres did not immediately call a Security Council meeting over the report, which he is authorized to do, and Israel expects that he will not call such a meeting on his own so it is attempting to bypass him and appeal directly to member states. Israel hopes that such a gathering will advance the UN's official recognition of Hamas as a terrorist organization - something the UN has so far avoided.
At the same time, Israel will also appeal to the UN secretary general with a request to invoke Article 99, which allows him to draw the Security Council's attention to a matter that endangers regional peace and security - as he did in December to discuss the humanitarian situation in Gaza. However, in Israel it is estimated that Guterres will not use this clause.
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There was evidence of sexual violence on the bodies of women who participated in teh Nova music festival at Kibbutz Re'im
(Photo: Shaul Golan)
"With great urgency, I call on you today to call an urgent meeting of the Security Council, after yesterday's UN report on the horrific crimes committed by Hamas against Israeli women and girls on October 7, as presented by the Special Envoy for Sexual Violence in Conflicts Pramila Patten. In the report, she stated that there is 'clear and convincing information' that hostages captured on October 7 and currently held in Gaza were raped and sexually tortured," reads a letter sent on Tuesday to Gueterres.
"She also stated that she has reasonable grounds to believe that this sexual violence is continuing against those hostages who are still being held by Hamas and other extremists in Gaza. Furthermore, Patten found that there is probable cause to believe that sexual violence related to the conflict occurred in several locations, including rape and gang-rape in at least three locations in southern Israel. They found a pattern of victims – mostly women – who were found fully or partially naked, tied up and shot across multiple locations," continues the letter that will be sent to Guterres.
The letter also states that "Patten stated that knowing the true extent of the sexual violence committed during the October 7 attacks 'may take months or years, and may never be fully known.' In December 2023, in an unprecedented manner, the UN Secretary General invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter to convene an urgent Security Council meeting regarding Gaza and the humanitarian situation there. This is an extremely urgent matter, which must receive the full attention of the Security Council The dire humanitarian situation of the hostages deserves similar attention. I urge you to immediately call for a meeting of the Council, in light of the obvious danger posed by the Hamas duo to regional security and the ongoing threats to our hostages. Hamas must be held accountable and defined as a terrorist organization."