Biden: Hamas's refusal to free young women led to the failure of ongoing ceasefire negotiations

On Tuesday, the U.S. President called for global condemnation of the 'sexual violence' perpetrated by the militant group Hamas during a campaign speech, following allegations of sexual assault and other acts during the mid-October attacks on Israel, which Hamas denies. He continued, 'Let me be clear, Hamas's refusal to free the remaining young women is what broke this agreement and ended the ceasefire. These are civilian women, mostly aged between 20 and 39, and Hamas refused to release them based on an agreement that was supposed to stop the fighting.' Biden added, 'I helped to achieve their freedom and establish a pause in negotiations with the Qataris. I spent hours with the Qataris and others to mediate, maintain, and extend that agreement.' The U.S. President continued, 'In the early days, we received reports that Hamas used sexual assault to instill terror in women and girls during the mid-October attack on Israel, and in recent weeks, survivors and witnesses of these attacks have shared horrific accounts of unimaginable cruelty, reports of repeated rapes and the mutilation of their bodies while they were still alive - of the desecration of women's corpses, Hamas terrorists inflicted as much pain and suffering on women and girls as possible before killing them. It's horrifying.' Joe Biden stated, 'Ending violence against women and sexual assault has been one of my life missions... but the world cannot just watch what is happening. It is up to all of us - governments, international organizations, civil society, and companies - to unequivocally, unconditionally, and strongly condemn the sexual violence of Hamas terrorists.' The U.S. President further stated, 'Women and all those still held hostage by Hamas must be immediately returned to their families, and we will not rest until we bring each of them home, and we will not stop until then, and this will be a long process.' This speech came on a day when Israeli police announced they were investigating the possibility of sexual crimes committed by several members of Hamas who were arrested following Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7; they say they intend to prosecute all suspects in custody. According to Israeli officials, among the 1,200 people killed in the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, at least 300 were women. However, investigations into the alleged sexual crimes committed by Hamas members on the night of the attack face challenges, as fighting continued in some areas for days, making access to those locations impossible. The time gap between the deaths and the discovery of the bodies meant many had decomposed, and when bodies reach such a stage of decomposition, standard protocols for proving sexual assault become nearly impossible. The Israeli Ministry of Justice stated that 'victims were tortured, physically abused, and raped, mutilated, and burned alive.' Hamas vehemently denies allegations of sexual assault or mutilation of women by its armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, on the night of the attack or thereafter.