A recent report concerning sexual violence linked to the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, has prompted calls for global attention to the protection of women and girls. According to Sharren Haskel, the Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, safeguarding women’s dignity is not a regional matter but a fundamental global necessity. She stated to the Funké news group that every nation bears the responsibility of holding a clear and steadfast moral position on this issue.
Haskel noted that the report revealed “the true face of an ideology that views sexual violence as a legitimate tactic of terror”. She urged the international community to address this subject with far greater urgency. She emphasized that with over 400 documented testimonies, there is no longer any doubt regarding the crimes of Hamas. Furthermore, the brutality documented in the report, “Silenced No More” confirms the ideology’s attempt to legitimize sexual acts as a means of terror, making it time for the international legal and human rights community to treat these findings with the urgency they deserve.
Adding to this commentary, Lars Castelucci, the German Government’s Human Rights Commissioner, stressed that Hamas’s actions have left “deep wounds” on the survivors and the Israeli society. He characterized sexual violence in conflicts as a particularly insidious form of abuse, calling for global efforts to combat it. While acknowledging that Germany and the EU are pushing for sanctions against Hamas organizations-including for the use of sexual violence-Castelucci also confirmed that the German Embassy in Tel Aviv supports various projects designed to help survivors cope with trauma, such as the work done by the Civil Commission for this report. Castelucci concluded by reiterating the German government’s belief that the needs and concerns of survivors must remain at the absolute center of all efforts.