International women’s rights orgs silent on Hamas' kidnapping and sexual violence in Israel

Several international women’s rights organizations have remained silent as terrorists killed and sexually assaulted numerous Israeli women in an attack over the weekend, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of their social media platforms and websites.

Hamas, a U.S.-designated Palestinian terrorist group, invaded Israel on the morning of October 7 and began executing and kidnapping Israeli men, women, children and the elderly, with thousands reported dead and injured.

Multiple outlets have reported that Hamas terrorists have been sexually assaulting women as they tried to escape from a music festival in Israel but international women’s groups have remained silent over the past few days despite the violence.

Equality Now, a human rights organization that targets violence and abuse of women around the world, has not released a statement regarding the attack but noted the upcoming International Day of the Girl Child on Oct. 11, which celebrates justice for young girls, according to a Monday Twitter post.

A spokesperson for Equality Now told the DCNF that it condemns “any use of sexual and gender based violence as a weapon of war, which is a grave violation of international human rights” and that the protection of women and children should be “prioritized.” The spokesperson did not answer the DCNF’s questions about why the organization had not made a public statement on Hamas’ attacks against Israeli women.

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) and the Global Fund for Women (GFW), have similarly not mentioned the violence in Israel. GFW blames Israel’s “military occupation” for gender-based violence and has an entire section of its website dedicated to the “gender-based violence against Palestinian women, girls, and gender nonconforming people.”

The MeToo Movement, which exploded across the globe in 2017 to give a voice to survivors of sexual assault, last posted on Oct. 5 about South Asian domestic abuse survivors in the U.S.

Attendees of a music festival said that Hamas terrorists attacked the rave in pickup trucks, killing more than 200 people, according to Tablet Magazine. Many women were brutally assaulted next to the dead bodies of their fellow concert-goers before being executed themselves while others were paraded through the Gaza Strip and taken as hostages.

A Hamas spokesperson also said this week that they would begin executing hostages if Israel did not stop its counter-offensive rocket strikes in the Gaza Strip.

“We have decided to put an end to the Zionist crimes against our people,” Abu Obaida, spokesperson for the Al-Qassam Brigades said. “Any targeting of our people without prior warning will be met with the execution of a civilian hostage.”

WILPF, MeToo and GFW did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include comment from Equality Now.

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