U.N. Women Retracts Statement Condemning Hamas Attacks on Israel By Haley Strack
After weeks of silence on Hamas’s October 7 crimes against women and children, United Nations Women issued a definitive statement on Friday that condemned “the brutal attacks by Hamas.”
Then, the organization deleted its statement.
In a post on Instagram, U.N. Women initially denounced Hamas’s attacks and said that it would “continue to call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” U.N. Women deleted the statement soon after it was posted and replaced it with another that omitted condemnation of Hamas.
U.N. Women has faced mounting pressure from Jewish women’s organizations, who say that the organization’s response to Hamas’s October 7 attacks has been skewed at best. In October, U.N. Women waited days to publicly comment on the attack. When the organization did comment on the “situation in Israel,” it called for increased humanitarian aid and fuel for Gaza, began to advocate for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, and said nothing of the violence that Hamas committed against Israeli women and children.
The U.N.’s leading women’s body is now spearheading its annual 16-day campaign to bring attention to gender-based violence. Its 16-day campaign might be to blame for the media mix-up that caused U.N. Women to post its Friday statement, a representative told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
“In any social media team managing multiple campaigns and during a very busy time like the one we are now with 16 Days of Activism, mistakes can occur,” the representative said.
“U.N. Women social media team had pre-planned days in advance [of] this particular post, but then the news broke on the release of hostages and we really wanted to focus on that,” she said. “U.N. Women has condemned the attacks by Hamas and the deaths of Israeli civilians from the beginning as well as called for the release of hostages, and we will continue doing so until the conflict ends. We have also called for all allegations of gender-based violence to be rigorously investigated, prioritizing the rights, needs, and safety of those affected.”
After 50 days of silence on the mass rapes, mutilations, and murder of Israeli women, the statement issued Friday by U.N. Women called for “rigorous investigation, prioritizing the rights, needs and safety of those affected.”
On Saturday, U.N. Women also renewed its support for Palestinian women: “We remain deeply concerned about the well-being of women and girls in Gaza and their dire need for safety and protection from all forms of violence,” it said. “We met with Palestinian women’s organizations and reiterated our support to women and girls in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
Of the Israeli women raped and murdered by Hamas, U.N. Women admits that it is “alarmed by gender-based violence reports on 7 Oct.”
U.N. Women has made no other statements in support of Israeli women and children, barring occasional references to Israeli civilian deaths in the organization’s many appeals for humanitarian aid to Gaza.
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