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Reem Alsalem - the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women - has repeatedly minimized or dismissed Hamas atrocities committed on October 7. As recently as April 2026, she dismissed allegations of Hamas sexual crimes against Israelis as “misinformation” used to “justify the genocide against Palestinians.”
In response, UN Watch brought former Hamas captive Ilana Gritzewsky to the floor of the United Nations to confront Alsalem and deliver the truth in a dramatic testimony.
Full Speech:
Special Rapporteur, your report speaks about violence against women. Why is there no mention of Hamas?
On October 7, terrorists stormed our Kibbutz - murdering, kidnapping, and burning.
I was beaten and mutilated before blacking out.
I woke up half naked with seven terrorists standing over me, not knowing what happened to me in those lost moments.
I went through days of pain and horror in captivity, and even now the feeling of being powerless and violated still lingers.
I came back with a broken hip, a broken jaw and a shattered soul.
People see my face and think I’m free. But freedom is not a switch. Trauma doesn’t vanish once you are released.
Now, every air-raid siren, and every rocket from Iran, throws me back into that hell.
On October 7, and in captivity, Jewish women were raped, abused, and humiliated.
And you, Special Rapporteur, you chose silence and denial.
Ms. Alsalem, you said there was no evidence of sexual violence on October 7.
I am standing here today - not as a report, not as a statistic.
I am a woman who survived. I am the living proof of sexual violence by Hamas.
When I and other Israeli women begged not to be raped, why were you silent?
Please look at me. Do you believe us now?
Will you apologize?
