There Is An Allegation That The UN Is Trying To Silence About Sexual Violence By Hamas, Israel Calls Home Its Ambassador

Israeli Foreign Minister Katz. (Wikimedia Commons/ big guy

JAKARTA - Israel's foreign minister said he had summoned the country's ambassador to the United Nations on Monday to consult on alleged UN attempts to "cover up" reports of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas, a charge the organization immediately denies.

"I ordered our ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, to return to Israel to immediately consult on efforts to silence a serious UN report on mass rape by Hamas and its aides on October 7," Israel's Foreign Minister Katz said in a statement.

Foreign Minister Katz criticized UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for not holding a meeting with the security council to discuss the findings and declare Hamas a terrorist organization.

In a separate statement, Israeli Ambassador Erdan said: "The PBB took five months to finally admit the shocking sexual crimes committed during the Hamas attack."

"Now that reports of sexual atrocities and sexual harassment experienced by our hostages in Gaza, the embarrassing silence from the United Nations that has not held a single discussion on the matter is truly heartbreaking," he said.

Separately, the UN special envoy for sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, on Monday delivered the report, which said there were "reasonable reasons to believe" sexual violence, including rape and group rape, took place in several locations during the militant group attacks on the southern region of Israel.

Meanwhile, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Secretary General Guterres "fully supports" Patten's efforts during his visit to Israel "to investigate acts of sexual violence related to the conflict related to the attack. The work was carried out thoroughly and quickly."

"The Secretary-General did absolutely nothing to keep the report 'quiet'. In fact, the report was presented to the public today," Dujarric said.