Sexual violence during October 7 attack; European Union sanctions Hamas

The armed factions of Islamic Jihad and Hamas were subject to penalties by the European Union (EU) on Friday due to the alleged “widespread” sexual violence that occurred during the October 7 attacks against Israel.

The two Palestinian factions’ militants, according to the bloc, “committed widespread sexual and gender-based violence in a systematic manner, using it as a weapon of war.” These fighters are already listed on the EU’s blacklist for terrorism.

The EU states came to an agreement that included the imposition of sanctions, and as a result, violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank will now be banned from the bloc.

According to Israeli authorities, 1,170 persons died as a result of Hamas’s unprecedented strike against Israel on October 7. The majority of the casualties were civilians. The attack also started the Gaza conflict.

The EU said that the abuses by Hamas fighters included “the rape and subsequent murder of female minors, mutilation of corpses as well as genital mutilation”.It also accused the assailants of the “targeted abduction of women and girls”.Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,634 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory’s health ministry. The ministry’s updated toll on Friday included at least 89 deaths over the previous day.

AFP