U.S. Vice President’s remarks come amid allegations from Israel’s critics that claims of sexual and gender-based violence were either fabricated or exaggerated in order to provide justification for its military response in Gaza

Speaking at an event dedicated to raising awareness on conflict-related sexual violence, including the airing of Sheryl Sandberg’s “Screams Before Silence” documentary, “On October 7, Hamas committed horrific acts of sexual violence,” Harris said.

Her remarks come amid steady criticism from Israel’s critics on the left that claims of sexual and gender-based violence were either fabricated or exaggerated in order to provide justification for its military response in Gaza following October 7.

“In the days after October 7, I saw images of bloodied Israeli women abducted,” she continued. “Hamas committed rape and gang rape at the Nova music festival, and women’s bodies were found naked from the waist down, hands tied behind their back and shot in the head.”

  • AmidFuror@fedia.io
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    12 days ago

    There’s evidence Hamas killed and violently abducted people on Oct. 7. Are you saying rape is required to respond?

    • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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      12 days ago

      With the extreme saturation of news on this conflict, it should be apparent at this point. While Israel is dead wrong in their genocidal response, Hamas is also responsible for countless atrocities committed against Israelis and Palestinians.

    • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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      12 days ago

      It isn’t, but even if it were there is direct evidence that Hamas raped a hostage.

        • AmidFuror@fedia.io
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          11 days ago

          When did you decide Hamas members are so moral or well disciplined that they would never rape an Israeli?

          • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOP
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            11 days ago

            Flowvoids statement is factually false there is no hostage that claims to be raped.

            When did you decide you can accuse people without evidence? Especially when many claims have proven made up lies by the israeli government.

            When all the evidence that israel claimed to have does not exist why do you still cling to the false accusations?

            Or do you want to believe Hamas rapes people? Can you not fathom Hamas not raping people?

            Maybe the israeli government lies sometimes.

        • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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          11 days ago

          “I just met with Amit, a survivor who has bravely come forward with her account of sexual violence while she was held captive by Hamas,” Harris said.

          • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOP
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            11 days ago

            Sexual violence is not always rape. Though there is a push now to redefine rape as sexual violence since all the false rape accusations have now been disproven. The Biden administration is glad that you still interpret it as the same. That is their intention.

            This woman has publicly stated she was not raped. You can open google and just look it up.

            • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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              11 days ago

              Sexual violence is not always rape.

              JFC, this sounds like something the Catholic Church would say after another priest is caught fondling little boys.

              As far as I’m concerned, sexual assault means rape. As far as I’m concerned, anyone who does this is a rapist:

              the guard, who called himself Muhammad, put a gun to her forehead, beat her and dragged her to a child’s bedroom. “Then he, with the gun pointed at me, forced me to commit a sexual act on him”

              • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOP
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                11 days ago

                No rape means sexual intercourse. Everything has a specific term.

                And you can find forensic evidence of rape.

                Also this account is different than what I read before which was supposedly someone groping her when she went into a room alone so this testimony is not looking too great.

                • AmidFuror@fedia.io
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                  11 days ago

                  I agree with you that rape requires intercourse.

                  Does it have to be rape to be manufactured consent or can it be sexual violence? It’s a weird thing to quibble about.

                  • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOP
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                    11 days ago

                    After the initial propaganda campaign focused on mass rapes as a weapon of war this is a very important distinction to make as he himself still associates it with such.

                    One cannot start pretending that we were just “worried about sexual violence”.

                    The Sharyl Sandberg “documentary” that Kamela Harris was attending very specifically states that rape happened.

                    Sexual violence is a very broad term. In the UN report it’s used for Hamas tying women’s hands behind their backs when taking them hostage. Not raping them.

                • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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                  11 days ago

                  Nah.

                  Hamas raped hostages. Hamas are rapists. They’re worse than the Catholic priests. At least priests don’t point guns at their rape victims.

                  And her account hasn’t changed, you just didn’t bother to read all of it.

                  • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOP
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                    11 days ago

                    Try sending a message to the UN they might have never heard of your opinion.

                    Either that or they specifically decided that it’s not rape.

    • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOP
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      11 days ago

      The rape hoax is required to manufacture consent to commit Genocide. Not to “respond”.