The European Union (EU) on Friday imposed sanctions on the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad for “widespread” sexual violence during the October 7 attacks on Israel.
The two Palestinian factions’ militants, according to the bloc, “committed widespread sexual and gender-based violence in a systematic manner, using it as a weapon of war.” These fighters are already listed on the EU’s blacklist for terrorism.
Jerrymusa.com reports that the EU states came to an agreement that included the imposition of sanctions, and as a result, violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank will now be banned from the bloc.
Hamas First Strike on Israel
According to Israeli authorities, 1,170 people died as a result of Hamas’s unprecedented strike against Israel on October 7.
The majority of the casualties were civilians. The attack also started the Gaza conflict.
“The rape and subsequent murder of female minors, mutilation of corpses, and genital mutilation” were among the atrocities committed by Hamas fighters, according to the EU.
Additionally, it charged the attackers with “targeted kidnapping of women and girls.”
The health ministry of Gaza reports that at least 33,634 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel’s retaliatory offensive, the majority of whom were women and children.
At least 89 deaths from the previous day were included in the ministry’s updated toll released on Friday.