Hamas's Response to Netanyahu's Claims of Sexual Assault on Detainees

Following statements from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding allegations of physical violations against detainees, the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas issued the following statement: "We strongly condemn President Biden's adoption of Zionist claims that attempt to falsely accuse our heroic resistance fighters of committing 'sexual violence and rape' during the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on October 7." The statement continued: "The repetition of this blatant lie is a Zionist behavior aimed at covering up the war crime of genocide and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the occupation army against our people, with the support and weaponry of the American government, and an attempt to mislead public opinion that witnessed the humane treatment of detainees by the resistance, a fact that has confused the calculations of the enemy and its supporters." Hamas called on global media to "exercise caution in exposing the falsehood of these new Zionist claims, as was the case with the claims of beheading children or using Al-Shifa Hospital as a command and control center for the resistance." U.S. President Joe Biden stated on Tuesday, citing survivors and witnesses, that Hamas militants took turns raping women and mutilating their bodies during their attack on southern Israel. In a speech at a political fundraising event in Boston, Biden noted that accounts of "unimaginable brutality" have circulated in recent weeks. He called on international organizations, civil society, and individuals to denounce all forms of sexual violence.