Netanyahu says human rights groups are turning a blind eye to alleged rapes by Hamas
Benjamin Netanyahu has accused human rights groups of turning a blind eye to rapes that Israel says were committed by Hamas during the 7 October massacre.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, the Israeli prime minister accused the international community of playing down the attacks and even ignoring them.
He said he expects “all civilised leaders, governments, nations to speak up against this atrocity”.
“I say to the women’s rights organisations, to the human rights organisations, you’ve heard of the rape of Israeli women, horrible atrocities, sexual mutilation – where the hell are you?” Netanyahu told a news conference on Tuesday, speaking in English to emphasise his point.
US President Joe Biden called the reports of sexual violence “appalling” and urged the world to condemn “horrific accounts of unimaginable cruelty”.
Speaking at a campaign fundraiser in Boston, he called on the world to condemn the acts by Hamas “without equivocation” and “without exception”.
He also stressed that “Hamas’s refusal to release the remaining young women” is what ended a temporary truce and hostage agreement that the US helped broker.
Israel’s justice ministry says “victims were tortured, physically abused, raped, burned alive, and dismembered” however Hamas has rejected all allegations that its gunmen committed sexual assault.
‘Widespread’ sexual violence
A human rights group has reported that rape and sexual violence were “widespread” during Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel.
A group named Physicians for Human Rights in Israel, which has a long record of advocating for Palestinian civilians in Gaza, published an initial assessment in November.
“What we know for sure is that it was more than just one case and it was widespread, in that this happened in more than one location and more than a handful of times,” Hadas Ziv, policy and ethics director for the organisation, said on Tuesday.
“It is becoming more apparent that the violence perpetrated against women, men and children also included widespread sexual and gender-based crimes.
“What we don’t know and what the police are investigating is whether it was ordered to be done and whether it was systematic.”
While investigators are still trying to determine the scope of the sexual assaults, many witnesses of the atrocities have spoken out, with some giving harrowing details of terrorists raping, mutilating and murdering women.
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A man hiding in a pit during the assault on a music festival said he heard someone nearby screaming she was being raped.
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An army reservist who was tasked with identifying those killed said some of the women were found wearing only bloodied underwear.
Others said they found women semi-naked, bound, eviscerated, stripped, bruised, shot in the head or torched.
Hamas and other Gaza militant groups killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took more than 240 hostages that day.
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Two months after the attack on farming communities and army posts in southern Israel, police are still trying to put together the pieces.
In the immediate aftermath, priority was given to identifying bodies, not to preserving evidence.
Police say they’re combing through 60,000 videos seized from the body cameras of Hamas attackers, from social media and from security cameras as well as 1,000 testimonies to bring the perpetrators to justice.
It has been difficult finding rape survivors, with many victims killed by their attackers.
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This was Emilia’s first day back at school following her release.
Last month, Israel’s police chief presented to the international news media videotaped testimony of a rape witness at the music festival.
Her face blurred, she said she watched militants gang-rape a woman as she lay on the ground.
The woman in the video described watching the militants as she pretended to be dead.
“I couldn’t understand what I saw,” she said.
‘Absolutely concerned’ about sexual violence against hostages
At the Shura military base where victims are being identified, Shari Mendes, a member of the army reserve unit that deals with the identification and religious burial preparation of female soldiers, said some of the women’s bodies came in with little clothing.
“Often women came in in just their underwear,” she said.
“Sometimes we had people who – we just had a torso, okay – or they were very decomposed or they were mutilated.
“I saw very bloody genitals on women.”
Based on open-source information and interviews, the Physicians for Human Rights in Israel report documents incidents at the music festival, homes around the Gaza Strip and an Israeli military base, all attacked by Hamas.
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On Tuesday, Mr Netanyahu and members of his war cabinet held a meeting with recently released hostages and family members of hostages still held in Gaza.
Some of those former hostages shared testimonies of sexual abuse during their time in Gaza, participants said.
Separately, a doctor who treated some of the 110 released hostages said that at least 10 men and women among those freed were sexually assaulted or abused, but did not provide further details.
According to the Israeli military, 138 hostages, including 15 women, are still held by Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza.
Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, a military spokesman, said the army is “absolutely” concerned about sexual violence against female hostages.
Echoing these concerns earlier this week, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: “It seems that one of the reasons they (Hamas) don’t want to turn women over that they’ve been holding hostage – and the reason this pause fell apart – is that they don’t want these women to be able to talk about what happened to them during their time in custody.”
World
Germany: At least one dead and 60-80 injured after car attack in German city – police find suspected explosives in vehicle
At least 11 people have been killed and dozens of others injured after a car was driven into a crowd at a Christmas market in Germany, local media reports.
News agency dpa said the driver has been arrested following the incident in the eastern city of Magdeburg, while Public broadcaster MDR reports almost 70 people have been injured – 15 seriously.
A city spokesman said the initial assessment is that this was an attack, with all hospitals in the nearby city of Halle preparing for a mass casualty event, according to a security official.
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German newspaper Bild reports at least 11 people have been killed and MDR said police have blocked off the area as there is a suspicion of explosives in the suspect’s car.
City spokesman Michael Reif said he suspects it was a deliberate act, adding there are “numerous injured” and that the “pictures are terrible”.
Magdeburg’s University Hospital said it is treating 10-20 patients and preparing for more, dpa reports.
Emergency services at the Christmas market in Magdeburg. Pic: AP
Germany‘s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said “the news suggests something bad” and that his thoughts are with “the victims and their families”.
The state premier Reiner Haseloff, who is on his way to the scene, said it is a “terrible event, especially now in the days before Christmas”, according to MDR.
Pic: AP
Police said on X that “extensive operations” were taking place at the market, which has been closed.
Weihnachtsmarkt Magdeburg has posted on Instagram warning people to leave the market and allow emergency services to do their work.
Pic: D’rthe Hein/picture-alliance/dpa/AP
Sky News’s Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins said initial videos from the scene show what appears to be a car “driving at speed” into a crowd at a Christmas market.
“The police have put out a statement saying there’s an extensive police operation that’s going on and they haven’t officially said yet whether this is terror,” she added.
“That of course will be something that a lot of people will be asking. There has been a warning for Christmas markets across Europe to be on high alert for possible terror attacks.”
Pic: dpa via AP
Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser said last month there were no concrete signs of a danger to Christmas markets this year, but added it was wise to be vigilant.
On 19 December 2016, an Islamic extremist drove a car into a crowd at a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 13 people and injuring dozens more.
Magdeburg, which is west of Berlin, is the state capital of Saxony-Anhalt and has a population of about 240,000.
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World
Russia should have invaded Ukraine ‘earlier’ says Putin – as he addresses possible peace talks
Vladimir Putin has said Russia should have invaded Ukraine earlier, in a national address spanning more than four hours.
Russia began the conflict with its neighbour in February 2022 and at his annual televised news conference, Mr Putin claimed the war has made Russia “stronger”.
The decision to invade “should have been made earlier” he added, before stating Russia could have “prepared for it in advance and more thoroughly”.
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He claimed: “Russia has become much stronger over the past two or three years because it has become a truly sovereign country.
“We are standing firm in terms of economy, we are strengthening our defence potential and our military capability now is the strongest in the world.”
The news conference also saw Mr Putin address a possible end to the war, as he said he is “ready to compromise” in possible talks with US President-elect Donald Trump.
He said he was open to meeting Mr Trump, who has pledged to negotiate a deal to end the conflict, saying the two would “have things to discuss”.
“Politics is the art of compromise. We have always said that we are ready for both talks and compromise,” he said.
Mr Putin’s news conference being broadcast on a giant screen in Moscow. Pic: AP
“Soon, those Ukrainians who want to fight will run out, in my opinion, soon there will be no one left who wants to fight,” he continued. “We are ready, but the other side needs to be ready for both negotiations and compromises…”
Any talks should be based on “the situation on the ground”, Mr Putin added, referring to conditions he previously laid out.
He has previously demanded Ukraine withdraw its bid to join NATO and asked it to recognise Russia’s gains. Both Kyiv and the West have rejected those demands.
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Mr Putin also said Moscow will only be ready to sign a deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy if he secures re-election.
Mr Zelenskyy’s five-year term technically came to an end in May but was extended due to martial law.
In response to a question about Moscow’s new hypersonic missile, he mockingly challenged the US to a “high-tech duel” to see whether Western tech could protect Ukraine from a strike using the weapon.
With a dry smile, he said: “Let them select a target, possibly in Kyiv, put their air defence assets there and we shall strike it with the Oreshnik [missile]. Let’s see what happens.”
Zelenskyy responds to Putin’s comments
Mr Putin’s comments have already sparked a strong response from Mr Zelenskyy, who is currently in Brussels for a summit on the Ukraine war.
In response to the duel suggestion, Mr Zelenskyy replied: “Do you think he is a sane person?”
Mr Zelenskyy addressing a European Union leaders summit in Brussels today. Pic: Reuters
In a show of solidarity with Ukraine, a number of EU leaders at the summit repeated a variation of a common mantra – nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, nothing about security in Europe without Europeans.
Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Luc Frieden said: “We need to stand with Ukraine, and every step […] needs to be taken with Ukraine and in the presence of the European Union.
“The future of Ukraine is decided in Europe and not elsewhere.”
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