7, the allegations surrounding sexual violence have emerged as one of the most contentious issues about the attacks.
Hamas denies the claims and has accused Israel of using the issue as a way to justify its military campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.įive months after Oct.
Israeli officials allege that Palestinian attackers committed sexual violence on Oct. "I had to pull down her skirt because I couldn't photograph her while she was so exposed," he said.Īt the time, Otmazgin and his colleagues weren't thinking about how, months later, the world might want evidence of atrocities, he said - especially sexual violence. In what he believed was an act of respect, Otmazgin, 50, an observant Orthodox Jew, adjusted her skirt before taking a photo to help identify her body later. Her skirt had been lifted all the way up, she had no underwear, and there was a wound between her legs, he said. "Then it will be possible to advance it and take a position," he said.One body he handled belonged to a woman who was found partially naked, Otmazgin said. Israeli war cabinet member Gadi Eisenkot said Hamas was under "very serious pressure" from mediators to make a "counter-offer". I can't tell you that it will be successful, but it is not yet the case that it is broken down," Lew said. Everyone's looking towards Ramadan, which is coming close. US ambassador to Israel Jack Lew denied the talks had "broken down". On Thursday, Hamas's delegation voiced dissatisfaction with Israeli responses so far and left Cairo for consultations with the movement's leadership in Qatar.Įgypt's Al-Qahera News channel said the talks will now resume "next week". The group accused Israel of evading parts of an agreement that would lead to a permanent ceasefire. Hamas said on Wednesday that it had shown flexibility in trying to reach an agreement with Israel via mediators for a ceasefire in Gaza before Ramadan begins. The proposed deal would pause fighting for "at least six weeks", see the "release of sick, wounded, elderly and women hostages" and allow for "a surge of humanitarian assistance", the White House said. In Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, around 14 bodies lay in front of a hospital, the bare feet of some protruding from under coloured cloths.īiden had urged Hamas to accept a ceasefire plan with Israel before the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan begins, as early as Sunday depending on the lunar calendar. He said children "are dying and fainting in the streets from hunger". There is no flour or rice," said Bassam Al-Hou, standing beside large, blackened cooking pots among the rubble. In the wasteland of Jabalia, northern Gaza, Palestinians gathered to receive meals at a distribution point. US President Joe Biden was set to announce he had ordered the American military to set up a port in Gaza to get more humanitarian aid into the beleaguered territory by sea, senior US officials said, cautioning it would take "a number of weeks". The ministry said 83 more people had been killed over the previous day, with the overall death toll from Israel's war reaching 30,800, mostly women and children, in a war that China called "a disgrace to civilisation". Hopes dimmed on Thursday for a truce before Ramadan in the Gaza war that entered its sixth month with dozens more killed in the enclave, according to the health ministry in the territory.