At meeting on October 7 sexual violence, Israeli Foreign Minister asks UN to condemn Hamas's crimes and help release hostages

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz participated in an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Hamas's sexual violence perpetrated on and after October 7, where he called for formally recognizing Hamas as a terror organization and using all UN tools to pressure the terror group to release all the kidnapped hostages.

"I am here on behalf of women and girls who have been raped, killed, and tortured by Hamas murderers. I have come here to express my protest against the crimes committed by Hamas against humanity with the explicit approval of their religious leaders, to horrify Israeli society," the Israeli minister said.

"For too long, the UN has remained silent on Hamas's actions. The UN has convened 41 times since October 7 and has never condemned the sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas."

Palestinian Authority Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour also spoke at the session. During his speech, Eli Albag, the father of 18-year-old soldier Liri Albag, abducted by Hamas, held a token with a photo of his daughter over his head.

Russian Deputy Ambassador Maria Zabolotskaya accused Israel of obstructing the provision of accurate information about what is happening in the Gaza Strip. According to her, "thousands of people are dying, and the UN International Court finds a high probability of genocide."

At the same time, the Russian diplomat added that Russia "from the very beginning unconditionally condemned acts of violence against Israelis on October 7" but emphasized: "these crimes, however horrific they may be," can't justify the collective punishment of the people in Gaza.