US State Department–Hamas won’t release women hostages because they will tell about sex crimes

‘There is very little that I would put beyond Hamas when it comes to its treatment of civilians, and particularly its treatment of women.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller revealed in a press conference that Hamas won’t free the remaining women because they don’t want them to talk about possible sex crimes in captivity.

With increasing reports about the frequency and severity of sexual crimes, including rape and genital mutilation, perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th, Matthew Miller has posited the hesitancy of releasing female hostages, the main issue that led to the end of the ceasefire and the resumption of fighting, is to prevent them from revealing similar crimes during their confinement.

In a press conference, Miller said, “The fact that they continue to hold women, hostages, the fact that they continue to hold children, hostages, just the fact that it seems one of the reasons they don’t want to turn women over they’ve been holding hostage, and the reason this pause fell apart, is they don’t want those women to be able to talk about what happened to them during their time in custody.”

“There is very little that I would put beyond Hamas when it comes to its treatment of civilians, and particularly its treatment of women,” he adds.

Last week, 110 elderly women, mothers and their children, and foreign nationals were released by Hamas.

As of last Friday after the ceasefire, 136 hostages remain who are mainly male, but there are still a number of women, including one who was seen in October 7th footage revealing blood on the seat of her sweatpants as she was shoved by terrorists into a van.

After outrage by Israel and Jewish women’s groups, the United Nations has announced it’s investigating the sexual crimes committed by Hamas on October 7th.

Many Pro-Palestinian activists and politicians, when they haven’t denied Hamas sexual crimes, have indicated they are a minimal consideration compared to Gazan civilian deaths.

Democratic congresswoman and member of the Progressive “Squad” Pramila Jayapal dismissed Hamas sexual crimes against Israeli women with the statement “It happens in war situations” on CNN Sunday.

When CNN host Dana Bash made the point, “And it’s horrible, but you don’t see Israeli soldiers raping Palestinian women.”

Jayapal responded, “I don’t want this to be the hierarchies of oppressions.”