Geneva:

The UN rights chief voiced deep concern on Wednesday over allegations of sexual violence by Hamas operatives throughout their October 7 assault, calling on Israel to permit his group in to research. “These are very, very severe allegations they usually should be investigated, they should be correctly documented,” Volker Turk, the United Nations excessive commissioner for human rights, informed a press convention.

“Justice have to be served for the victims,” he stated, stressing that he had repeatedly requested Israel for entry to research the claims, with no response.

Turk’s feedback got here amid mounting criticism of the UN over its lacklustre response to the alleged rapes and different sexual violence dedicated throughout Hamas’s unprecedented assault inside Israel on October 7.

Even earlier than forensic examinations started, an abundance of pictures pointed to the ugly nature of the assaults, with photos shared on-line and stay footage streamed by the operatives as they killed 1,200 folks, principally civilians, in line with an Israeli rely.

‘Unfounded lies’

In response to the Hamas assault, Israel vowed to destroy the group, and has carried out a relentless bombardment and a floor offensive in Gaza, killing greater than 16,200 folks, most of them girls and kids, in line with Gaza’s Hamas-run authorities.

Hamas has flatly rejected accusations of rape and sexual violence in the course of the October 7 assaults as “unfounded lies”.

Israeli police, in the meantime, say they’ve been exploring proof of sexual violence, starting from alleged gang rape to autopsy mutilation, with a senior police officer final week saying they to date had gathered “greater than 1,500 stunning and troublesome testimonies”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly accused the Palestinian militant group of such acts, on Tuesday stated that in a gathering with hostages launched by Hamas he had heard “about circumstances of sexual abuse and merciless rapes”.

Anger over the accusations have been mounting, with US President Joe Biden this week calling for governments and worldwide organisations to “forcefully condemn the sexual violence of Hamas terrorists with out equivocation”.

Too little, too late?

However deeply annoyed campaigners have accused the UN of an inadequate response and the worldwide human rights group of betrayal.

It was not till final week that the United Nations started issuing extra forceful feedback, together with statements from UN chief Antonio Guterres and the UN Ladies company.

Early on Wednesday, Catherine Russell, head of the UN youngsters’s company UNICEF, described the accounts of sexual violence on October 7 as “horrific”.

“Survivors have to be heard, supported, and supplied with care. Allegations have to be totally investigated,” she stated on X, previously referred to as Twitter.

“We condemn gender-based violence and all types of violence in opposition to girls and women.”

Nonetheless, that remark was swiftly condemned by the Israeli international ministry as too little, too late.

Spokesman Lior Haiat blasted Russell for not mentioning the alleged perpetrators.

“The truth that she (Russell) would not point out the Hamas terror organisation is one other means of turning a blind eye on the atrocities that Hamas did,” he informed AFP.

“By not mentioning Hamas she is legitimising their actions”.

Impartial investigation wanted

In the meantime, Turk highlighted that Israel itself had not responded to his repeated requests for entry to research the allegations independently.

“We take the allegations extraordinarily significantly,” he stated, however “it’s worthwhile to go into fairly some detailed examination of whether or not it is premeditated, whether or not it was widespread, systematic”.

“I am not able to substantiate this.”

He confused that for weeks he had “requested the Israeli authorities… to deploy a group, my group, to observe, doc, examine the problems of the horrific assaults on Israelis”.

“I’ve repeated this name and I hope it will likely be heard however to date, I have never obtained a response.”

Even when entry is denied, Turk stated that “we are going to discover different methods and means to speak to whoever we have to speak to”.

“Atrocious types of sexual violence should be completely investigated, and we have to make it possible for justice is served,” he stated.

“That is what we owe the victims.”

(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)