III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 505 

Condemning the use of sexual violence and rape as a weapon of war by 

the terrorist group Hamas against the people of Israel. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 14, 2023 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mrs. BRITT, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. FISCHER, 

Mr. FETTERMAN, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. CASEY, Mr. WARNOCK, Mr. OSSOFF, 

Mr. KING, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. 

WYDEN, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. KAINE, Ms. CORTEZ

MASTO, Mr. WARNER, Ms. ROSEN, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. BENNET, and Mr. 

PETERS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the use of sexual violence and rape as a weapon 

of war by the terrorist group Hamas against the people 

of Israel. 

Whereas, on October 7, 2023, the terrorist organization 

Hamas— 

(1) attacked communities, military installations, and 

a music festival in southern Israel; 

(2) killed approximately 1,200 people; and 

(3) seized more than 200 hostages; 

Whereas evidence that emerged in the first days after such 

attacks indicates that Hamas fighters deliberately used 

sexual violence against women and children; 

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•SRES 505 IS 

Whereas Israeli police have gathered evidence from more than 

1,500 women and men in Israel— 

(1) who reported being sexually assaulted during 

such attacks; 

(2) who were witness to such sexual assaults; or 

(3) whose sexual assaults have been medically documented; 

Whereas while gender-based violence is prevalent in many 

conflict settings— 

(1) such violence is almost always severely underreported during and after a conflict; and 

(2) the United Nations estimates that, in conflict 

areas, for every rape that is reported, between 10 and 20 

cases of sexual violence are not reported; 

Whereas the Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes by 

Hamas Against Women And Children, which seeks to 

document the sexual and gender-based atrocities committed on October 7, 2023, reported that it is unable to 

accurately estimate the number of such victims in part 

because many of them were killed during the Hamas attacks; 

Whereas the victims of the deliberate use of sexual violence 

as a weapon to wage war against Israel are men and 

women of all ages, including children, teenagers, and the 

elderly; 

Whereas eyewitness testimony reports that women at the 

Tribe of Nova music festival were gang-raped, tortured, 

mutilated, and executed; 

Whereas Israeli officials have documented extensive sexual 

abuse of corpses; 

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•SRES 505 IS 

Whereas reports from released hostages held by Hamas for 

more than a month indicate that women and men were 

subjected to sexual violence while in captivity; 

Whereas the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of 

Civilian Persons in Time of War, done at Geneva August 

12, 1949 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Fourth Geneva 

Convention’’), recognizes rape in conflict settings as a 

war crime; and 

Whereas sexual violence is used in many conflict settings as 

a tool to humiliate, control, oppress, and defeat women 

and the communities to which they belong: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) honors the memories of all the victims of 

3 the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks perpetrated by 

4 Hamas, including those who were victims of sexual 

5 violence, and stands with the survivors, their fami6 lies, and the families of all the deceased; 

7 (2) condemns in the strongest terms the delib8 erate use of gender-based violence against women 

9 and children in Israel during the terrorist attacks on 

10 October 7, 2023; 

11 (3) calls upon the international community— 

12 (A) to prioritize the elimination of gender13 based violence in conflict settings; 

14 (B) to respond to the testimonials of vic15 tims and recognize and condemn gender-based 

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•SRES 505 IS 

1 violence in conflict settings as soon as it is re2 ported; and 

3 (C) to take every possible step to end the 

4 widespread use of rape as a weapon of war; 

5 (4) demands accountability for the perpetrators 

6 of rape as a weapon of war and justice for their vic7 tims; and 

8 (5) stands with the women and girls of Israel, 

9 the victims of the heinous attacks of October 7, and 

10 all who have suffered rape as a weapon of war. 

Æ