United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten continued her visit to Israel this week by hearing testimonies of survivors of Hamas captivity.
Patten visited the Hostages and Missing Families Forum on Wednesday and met with Israeli hostages who returned from Hamas captivity along with families of soldiers still in Gaza. Patten heard testimonies and the survivors’ stories and pledged to use all available means at her disposal to bring about the release of the remaining captives held by Hamas.
From there, she proceeded to the military facility at Shura Camp, where she met with Captain (Res.) Avigail Bar Asher, head of the Military Rabbinate’s Casualty Identification Team, who described the unit’s difficult work in collecting all the evidence discovered by unit personnel since the October 7 massacres.
Patten’s visit was initiated by the Department for International Organizations at the Foreign Ministry and Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan.
Patten also conducted a tour of Unit 105, part of Israel Police’s Lahav 433. There, she received a briefing from unit leaders on the national investigation against the Hamas terrorists who infiltrated Israel and the collection of evidence regarding the sexual assaults perpetrated by the terrorists.
Earlier this week, Patten began her visit by touring the Gaza border area, where she conversed with eyewitnesses in Kibbutz Be’eri, Kibbutz Nahal Oz and at Re’im, the site of the Nova music festival where hundreds were massacred.
At Kibbutz Be’eri, Patten met with local resident Or Yalin and IDF reservist Yossi Landa, listening to their testimonies about the atrocities that occurred.
‘Your silence will be the license for these criminals’
Patten was invited to Israel to allow her to firsthand witness the extent of the atrocities and bring to the attention of the relevant international authorities the crimes of Hamas. The UN and major international women’s organizations have come under constant criticism over their slowness to address the sexual crimes committed by Hamas.
On Monday, she urged the victims of sexual assault during the Hamas attacks to “break your silence” to help deliver justice, stating, “Break the silence because your silence will be the license for these criminals, and they will continue to commit these heinous crimes. There is no place in the battlefields of the 21st century for such crimes.”
“After what happened on October 7, I couldn’t just sit in my New York office and watch from the sidelines,” Patten said. “Therefore, I have actively engaged through the Government of Israel in this mission, and I am very pleased to be here to express my solidarity with Israel, with the survivors, the families of the victims, and the families of the abducted.”
UN Women, the organization’s body for addressing gender equality, took until the first week of December to condemn Hamas’s actions, nearly two months after the terrorist organization’s brutal rampage of rape, murder, and kidnappings.
“We unequivocally condemn the brutal attacks by Hamas on Israel on October 7,” UN Women stated at the time. “We are alarmed by the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence during those attacks.”
Patten is expected to present her findings to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for inclusion in a report on the sexual crimes of October 7.
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