Nicola co-hosted an event in the Parliament today where emergency responders to the 7th October Hamas attack on Israel gave testimonies of the horrendous crimes against humanity they observed.
MPs and Peers gathered to hear the harrowing and barbaric sexual violence used against women and girls on the day Hamas terrorists killed around 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. Many of those in attendance were brought to tears by what they heard.
Participants included Minister for Women and Equalities, Kemi Badenoch MP, who attended on behalf of the Government and spoke movingly on our responsibility to bear witness to these crimes, and Dame Margaret Hodge MP representing the Labour party.
Attendees heard first-hand testimony from a delegation who had come from Israel to share what they saw and had to deal with during those terrorist attacks.
BBC News reported the testimony of Shari Mendes, an Israeli military reservist who identified female bodies after 7th October. She said:
"Many women arrived with bloody, shredded underwear, many arrived with no clothing,"
"Our team commander saw several female soldiers who were shot in the vagina, the crotch or they were shot in the breast. This was gratuitous. This was a deliberate, systematic, genital mutilation."
They also reported that Ms Mendes had seen bodies decapitated or with limbs cut off.
The BBC also reported the testimony of Simcha Greiniman, a volunteer with a religious organisation that collects remains of the dead for burial. He said:
"In one of the houses there was a woman separated from her family. She was in her bedroom leaning on her bed,"
"She was half naked from the waist down. She was shot in the back of her head... She had a live grenade in her hand."
Commenting in the aftermath of the event, Nicola said:
"Today Parliament was witness to evidence of crimes against humanity, in particular the use of rape in war. Hamas sought to destroy the dignity of women through rape, mutilation, death and destruction. They sought to dishonour women and girls in their final moments, in the cruelest way possible.
"Shari Mendes moved many of us to tears today. Her testimony is so important. Shari and her colleagues gave back dignity, respect and love to women and girls Hamas abused and destroyed. We owe it to Shari and the women she saw to share this evidence. To remain silent is to let these innocent women and girls down.
"So many came to hear these testimonies, so we can continue to call on others to recognise these crimes. We can give a voice to the women who no longer have theirs. We can tell the world that rape was used as a weapon of war. And we must call for the return of all hostages."