THE United Nations will launch an information-gathering mission at the end of the month over accusations of sexual assault by Hamas during the October attack in Israel, a spokesman said yesterday. 

During her trip to Israel and the West Bank, Pramila Patten, the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, will “gather information on sexual violence reportedly committed in the context of the attacks of October 7 and its aftermath”, the UN secretary-general’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. 

“She is expected to meet with survivors, witnesses and others affected by sexual violence to identify avenues of support,” Dujarric said, adding that Patten also plans to meet with “recently released hostages and detainees”.

Patten will “be accompanied by experts in safe and ethical interviewing, forensic evidence, digital analysis and accountability,” he said, with the trip part of “the exercise of her mandate in accordance with a standard UN methodology”.

The UN has faced criticism for not responding quickly enough to victims’ accounts of rape and sexual assault allegedly committed during Hamas’ incursion into Israel. 

The attack resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Militants also took around 250 hostages, of whom Israel says 132 remain in Gaza, including at least 25 believed to have been killed, after about 100 were released in a prisoner swap in November. 

Israel has responded with a relentless military campaign that has killed at least 23,357 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry. – AFP, January 11, 2024.