Since 10/7 there have been reports that Israeli women were raped as well as murdered during the Hamas attack on Israel. And since that day Hamas has been denying it. There have also been a significant number of very online leftists doing their best to downplay or outright deny the sexual violence carried out by Hamas. As recently as a few weeks ago they were all talking about the lack of evidence for it. Here’s an example of the sort of thing I mean. This comes from a leftist site called MintPress News. It’s not an outright denial just a strong suggestion that these claims about Hamas and rape may not be true.
Did Hamas Carry Out Mass Rapes On October 7th?
Almost immediately after the seven-day truce and prisoner swap between Hamas and Israel, out of which we heard testimonies that Palestinian women were being raped in Israeli jails, the claims of sexual violence against Israelis on… pic.twitter.com/vpRbl7FZeX
— MintPress News (@MintPressNews) December 9, 2023
Here’s another example:
The evidence that Hamas used mass rape as a weapon of war is paper thin. Her claim here that anyone testified to experiencing it is false: there are zero direct survivor testimonies – only ~2-3 from people who claim to have witnessed rapes that get recycled in every story https://t.co/2mwncieU1J
— Natalie Shure (@nataliesurely) December 5, 2023
These are just a couple of examples but there are hundreds more like this. Today the NY Times published the results of its own investigation into the evidence and concludes that Hamas definitely weaponized rape during the 10/7 attack.
Israeli officials say that everywhere Hamas terrorists struck — the rave, the military bases along the Gaza border and the kibbutzim — they brutalized women.
A two-month investigation by The Times uncovered painful new details, establishing that the attacks against women were not isolated events but part of a broader pattern of gender-based violence on Oct. 7.
Relying on video footage, photographs, GPS data from mobile phones and interviews with more than 150 people, including witnesses, medical personnel, soldiers and rape counselors, The Times identified at least seven locations where Israeli women and girls appear to have been sexually assaulted or mutilated.
Very few of the victims survived and those who did have so far chosen not to come forward. But a woman who was hiding under a bush near the music festival said she witnessed a group of Hamas fighters raping and murdering several women.
The first victim she said she saw was a young woman with copper-color hair, blood running down her back, pants pushed down to her knees. One man pulled her by the hair and made her bend over. Another penetrated her, Sapir said, and every time she flinched, he plunged a knife into her back.
She said she then watched another woman “shredded into pieces.” While one terrorist raped her, she said, another pulled out a box cutter and sliced off her breast…
Yura Karol, a 22-year-old security consultant, said he was hiding in the same spot, and he can be seen in one of Sapir’s photos. He and Sapir were part of a group of friends who had met up at the party. In an interview, Mr. Karol said he barely lifted his head to look at the road but he also described seeing a woman raped and killed.
A mile away, another witness saw members of Hamas rape and murder another woman.
He said he then saw five men, wearing civilian clothes, all carrying knives and one carrying a hammer, dragging a woman across the ground. She was young, naked and screaming.
“They all gather around her,” Mr. Cohen said. “She’s standing up. They start raping her. I saw the men standing in a half circle around her. One penetrates her. She screams. I still remember her voice, screams without words.”
“Then one of them raises a knife,” he said, “and they just slaughtered her.”
There’s a lot more to the article all of which is hard to read. Witnesses saw the bodies of many women who were found naked and alone, often with signs of sexual violence.
What Israeli authorities don’t have is autopsies. Because medical examiners were dealing with 1,200 bodies from a single attack they didn’t take time to perform rape examinations on the dead. They were trying to work quickly so they could notify families. That lack of physical evidence will probably be enough for Hamas and their supporters to continue denying what happened. They have to deny it because admitting this was true would erase a lot of the sympathy they have been getting. The commenters seem to get it:
To those pro-Palestinian protesters who somehow believe Hamas are “freedom fighters” or that they want to lift the Palestinian people, read this account of their unspeakable brutality You can’t tell me these were isolated incidents perpetrated by a rogue element. This is who they truly are. This is how they value women. Does this fit the progressive ideal now? Be wary of who you elevate in your protests. They are not your friends and would do the same to you.
From a doctor in Houston:
I am an Ob/Gyn who has taken care of numerous rape victims, including many from Africa and the Middle East. Sexual violence is a common tool used in conflicts to demoralize the opposing nation and this is clearly evident in this conflict. The rate of suicide for these women is extremely high due to lack of support. I hope those protesting for the Palestinians know that Hamas has used the worst crimes in humanity to effectuate their goal- which speaks to what they will do if they win this fight. I suspect there are many more victims of rape and sexual violence in Israel whose stories have not been told. I have yet to hear an acknowledgement from pro-Palestinian protesters on these facts (not from the Presidents of Harvard, Penn, MIT etc.)
And one more:
This article should be required reading for every woman who dares to protest in support of Hamas and that begins with AOC. It should be posted in the common area of every dorm at Harvard , Penn , MIT. It makes you wonder what happened to all the female hostages. I don’t even want to think about… but as a human being I have to. I have to bear witness. So do you.
I’d like to think most people are this sensible. That they can see what Hamas is and stop defending them and chanting their slogans, i.e. from the river to the sea. The fact that these brutal, theocratic, anti-Semitic, misogynist murderers have become heroes to many on the left should be shocking to every sane person in the world.