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Gal Gadot Condemns Silence Over Hamas’ Sexual Violence: ‘The World Has Failed the Women of Oct. 7’
Gal Gadot seen outside the ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ studios in Los Angeles. Photo: Cover Media via Reuters Connect
Israeli actress Gal Gadot blasted the international community for its silence about rape and sexual violence that Israeli women experienced by the hands of Hamas terrorists during the deadly massacre that took place in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
In an Instagram post on Sunday, the Wonder Woman 1984 star said “the world has failed the women of Oct. 7” and called for the immediate release of every female hostage seized by Hamas during the terror group’s onslaught.
“We say we believe women. Stand with women. Speak out for women,” she wrote in her statement. “Within hours of the Oct. 7 attack, the first blood-chilling video emerged of Shani Louk being paraded naked and defiled by her proud assailants. Yet two months later women are still hostage to these rapists and the world has failed to call this situation what it is: an urgent emergency that demands a decisive response.”
Gadot concluded by saying that “women and allies of women” need to act and demand the release of all female hostages taken by Hamas to Gaza after the terrorist organization murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 240 others during its invasion last month.
“I am beseeching all those who have done so much for women’s rights globally — from the UN, to the human rights community to please join in the demand that Hamas release every single woman hostage immediately — not after the next round of international mediation,” Gadot said. “Not after another day. These women cannot survive another moment of this horror.”
Earlier over the weekend, United Nations Women — the UN agency for gender equality and women’s empowerment — released its first statement about the Hamas kidnappings, more than 50 days after they took place. UN Women denounced the Hamas attacks and “the numerous accounts of gender-based atrocities and sexual violence” that took place on Oct. 7. It also called for all accounts of gender-based violence that took place “to be duly investigated and prosecuted, with the rights of the victim at the core.”
A new report from The Sunday Times in the United Kingdom included chilling testimonies about sexual violence, including gang rape, that Hamas terrorists carrying out on their victims during the Oct. 7 attacks. Israeli forensic teams who examined the bodies of those murdered by Hamas that day said they found multiple signs of rape and torture. Haim Outmezgine, a senior member of of volunteer rescue group ZAKA, also took the British publication that after seeing the bodies first-hand, “it was clear [Hamas terrorists] were trying to spread as much horror as they could, to kill, to burn alive, to rape — it seemed their mission was to rape as many as possible.”
In October, Gadot joined hundreds of Hollywood figures and executives in signing an open letter, addressed to US President Joe Biden, that called for the release of all those kidnapped by Hamas earlier that month.
The post Gal Gadot Condemns Silence Over Hamas’ Sexual Violence: ‘The World Has Failed the Women of Oct. 7’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.