By NewsBlogger One sentence summary – A United Nations report has found evidence of sexual violence, including rape, committed by Hamas during an attack on Israel on October 7, with allegations of ongoing sexual violence against Israeli hostages in Gaza, while also including allegations of sexual violence by Israeli security forces and settlers against Palestinian women, men, and girls in the West Bank; the report also reveals a suspected Hamas global investment portfolio, potentially worth up to $1 billion, run through a Turkish real estate company.
At a glance
- A UN report has found evidence of sexual violence, including rape of women’s corpses, committed by Hamas attackers during their attack on Israel on October 7.
- The report also includes allegations of sexual violence against Palestinian women, men, and girls by Israeli security forces and settlers in the West Bank.
- Evidence of attacks, including rape and gang rape, at the Nova music festival site, the road to leave it, and kibbutz Re’im near the Gaza border was discovered.
- The US is planning to deliver more humanitarian aid to Gaza through airdrops, and a maritime route for ship deliveries of aid is also being worked on.
- The US government believes a housing complex in Bursa, Turkey, to be a part of a secret global investment portfolio run by Hamas, potentially worth up to $1 billion, and has targeted the Turkey-based developer with sanctions.
The details
UN Report on Sexual Violence in Hamas Attacks
A comprehensive report by the United Nations (UN) has found evidence of sexual violence committed by Hamas attackers during their attack on Israel on October 7.
The report includes instances of rape of women’s corpses.
The UN special envoy on sexual violence and women, Pramilla Patten, stated there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that Hamas inflicted sexualized torture.
The report suggests that sexual violence against Israeli hostages in Gaza may still be ongoing.
Simultaneously, the report also includes allegations of sexual violence against Palestinian women, men, and girls by Israeli security forces and settlers in the West Bank.
Reports of violence by Israelis against Palestinians include beatings, body searches, threats of rape, and intimidation.
The UN team has requested the Israeli government to allow other UN bodies to conduct independent investigations into the allegations.
Evidence of attacks, including rape and gang rape, at the Nova music festival site, the road to leave it, and kibbutz Re’im near the Gaza border, was discovered.
The report states that in most incidents, victims were first raped and then killed, with at least two incidents involving the rape of women’s corpses.
The UN has faced criticism for its slow response to reports of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas.
The report describes finding murdered victims, mostly women, naked from the waist down, many shot in the head.
The UN mission team found a pattern of bound victims, some tied to trees or poles along the road leading out of the Nova festival.
In kibbutz Re’im, the mission team verified the rape of a woman outside a bomb shelter and heard of other unverified allegations of rape.
The team determined that at least two allegations of sexual violence in kibbutz Be’eri, widely reported in the media, were unfounded.
The true prevalence of sexual violence during the October 7 attacks and their aftermath may take months or years to emerge and may never be fully known.
US Aid to Gaza and Hamas’s Global Investments
In a related development, the United States is planning to deliver more humanitarian aid to Gaza through airdrops.
John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesman, stated that a maritime route for ship deliveries of aid is also being worked on.
Meanwhile, in Bursa, Turkey, developers began construction on a housing complex, Anda Park Balat 2, about seven years ago.
The US government believes this complex to be a part of a secret global investment portfolio run by Hamas, potentially worth up to $1 billion.
The US Treasury has targeted Trend GYO, the Turkey-based developer of Anda Park Balat 2 and several other projects, with sanctions for being part of Hamas’s international financing network.
Trend GYO is part of the Al-Ahmar Group, which has 90 companies operating in several sectors, including banking, real estate, travel, mobile phone operators, as well as oil and gas.
Company executives appear to have links to senior levels of the Turkish government, which does not consider Hamas a terrorist group.
After each round of US sanctions, Trend GYO has tried to distance itself from alleged links to Hamas, typically by making corporate changes or shifting its shareholders.
Despite the sanctions, Trend GYO continues to develop real estate projects, with their Anda Park apartments on the market for as high as 7.5 million Turkish lira (£220,000) and for rent starting at around 20,000 lira (£600).
The firm is currently working on a sixth development, the Trend Boulevard Houses, which will house 240 apartments and six commercial units, and is also behind a project for Istanbul’s commerce university.
Implications of the Findings
The findings of the UN report and the subsequent actions of the US government highlight the complex and interconnected nature of the ongoing conflict, with serious implications for the region and international relations.
