Hostage family members and Israeli FM travel to UN to demand action against Hamas

The delegates will attend the UN Security Council’s session on the findings of the investigation into the sexual atrocities Hamas committed on October 7th and afterward.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, along with 40 relatives of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, will travel to the United Nations in New York to advocate on behalf of captives in Gaza and to demand action in response to Hamas’s sexual crimes.

The delegates will attend the UN Security Council’s session on the findings of the investigation into the sexual atrocities Hamas committed on October 7th and afterward.

The session follows Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten’s 24-page report submitted to the UN last week.

Patten’s team visited the devastated kibbutzim targeted on October 7th, spoke with forensic experts about evidence of sexual crimes and mutilation of the bodies of the deceased, viewed footage of the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists, and spoke with survivors and witnesses of the crimes.

Yarden Gonen, a delegate whose 23-year old sister Romi was abducted from the Nova festival said: “This session is critical and may have an effect that would finally prompt the UN to use its mandate and its forces for good. For the benefit of the hostages.”

Gonen said that the UN had “let the hostage families down” on more than one occasion and that she had “little hope” that they would take concrete action.

However, she explained, “Wherever we can come and have our voices heard and bring down the number of people who continue to refer to the crimes as alleged, I will shout out because my sister and 133 others cannot.”

Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the fact that the UN Security Council launched an investigation and was holding a session on Hamas sexual violence was a victory and it was important to press forward to demand the UN officially categorize Hamas as a terror organization.

“Their families will stand at my side to remind the UN Secretary General and the entire world that the people of Israel will not accept what had happened and will not stop until the UN proclaims that Hamas is a terror organization.”