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Protesters push UN to condemn sexual violence during Hamas attack

The women's rights group UN Women is facing fierce criticism for its silence about sexual violence against women in the Oct. 7 attack.
Protesters push UN to condemn sexual violence during Hamas attack
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Chanting for the release of Israeli women still being held by Hamas, several hundred women gathered outside United Nations headquarters in New York. 

The women's rights group UN Women is facing fierce criticism for its silence about sexual violence against Israeli women in the Oct. 7 attack.

UN Women has repeatedly condemned Israeli airstrikes and called for the protection of women and girls in Gaza.

But the group didn't address sexual violence in the Oct. 7 attack until a Nov. 24 post on X, when it expressed alarm and called for an investigation.

Protest organizer Shany Granot-Lubaton said, "I care about women in Gaza, I care about children in Gaza, but the fact that they cannot speak in a clear voice about what happened on Oct. 7 and about the atrocities that Israeli women and children went through is unacceptable and unforgettable."

SEE MORE: Israel expands fighting throughout Gaza following truce with Hamas

Danielle Ofek, the founder of #MeToo_Unless_Ur_A_Jew, said, "A mere sentence breaking their 57 days of silence cannot erase their shameful actions. It's unbelievable and it's unforgivable and it's too little and too late."

Meanwhile in Israel, medical officials are hearing more about Hamas' treatment of its youngest hostages.

The CEO of Schneider Children's Medical Center, Efrat Bron-Harlev said "We heard again and again that Hamas were psychologically harassing them on a daily basis. 'You're not going to go back. There is no Israel anymore there is nowhere for you to go back and nobody's looking for you.'"

According to officials, the children lost weight and were very skinny when they arrived at the hospital. They said feeding them is the easy part of the treatment.

"But the hard part is how to treat their soul," said Bron-Harlev.

It is a test of children's resilience after unspeakable trauma.


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