Israel to Take Legal Action Against Captured Hamas Terrorists
In the first week of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, there were reports that the terrorists had raped some of their victims before murdering them. At the time, the Israeli authorities didn’t pay much attention to the reports as they focused on responding to the terror attack. But today, several governmental agencies have come together to tackle the biggest rape investigation in Israel.
Over the past few weeks, Lahav 433, the Israel Police’s severe crime unit, has been collecting testimonies from the October 7th massacre to be used against culprits in court proceedings. The Israel Police are looking to build a solid case against the captured Hamas terrorists over the coming months.
ZAKA Presents Its Testimonies
Most of the testimonies are from ZAKA, an International Rescue Unit based in Jerusalem that comprises trained volunteer search and rescue as well as paramedics. The testimonies include terrifying descriptions of scenes that people saw when they arrived at areas where Hamas killed innocent individuals, which also prove that the terrorists sexually abused women before murdering them.
Popular Israeli news outlet Israel Hayom, which interviewed some members of ZAKA and Lahav 433 and representatives from the Rape Crisis Center in Israel, said over the weekend that the conversations painted a clear picture: Hamas committed atrocious acts of rape to women when they invaded Israel early last month.
Yifat Bitton, a prominent professional who researches sexual violence against women, says Hamas terrorists likely raped their victims with the intention of degrading Israel. She then adds that victims of rape never survive to narrate their stories. For this reason, Bitton says the Israel Police must do everything possible to ensure the victims are served justice from their graves.
Israeli Professor Collects Evidence Proving Rape Incidents on October 7th
It’s not just the Israel Police that have been collecting evidence and testimonies. Chochav Elkayam-Levy, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, established a commission called “Crimes by Hamas Against Children and Women” a few weeks ago to gather evidence proving that Hamas committed sexual crimes.
Meanwhile, IDF former Chief Military Prosecutor Sharon Pinhas expects investigations into the rape cases to take several months to complete, arguing that they will require significant resources, which the Israeli government has yet to allocate.
