Joly Condemns Hamas Rapes of Israeli Women After Weeks of Pressure

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is condemning sexual violence committed by Hamas during its attack on Israel, after weeks of pressure to speak out. “Using sexual violence as a tactic of war is a crime,” Joly wrote Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter. Joly made explicit reference to the brutal incursion two months ago by Hamas militants, who killed an estimated 1,200 people. Canada strongly condemns sexual and gender-based violence, she wrote, “including rape, perpetrated by Hamas against women in Israel on Oct. 7. We believe Israeli women.” Opposition parties have been pressing the government for weeks to condemn the sexual violence by Hamas, at times arguing that it’s not enough to simply speak out against violence in general....