The official accepted Israel’s invitation and is expected to go there soon, the foreign ministry said. Hamas has denied that its fighters committed sex crimes during the Oct. 7 attacks.

The United Nations’ special representative on sexual violence in conflict has accepted Israel’s invitation to investigate allegations of sex crimes committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, a spokesman for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.

The U.N. official, Pramila Patten, is expected to come to Israel within weeks and has been granted investigative authority by the foreign ministry, said the spokesman, Lior Haiat.

Ms. Patten “plans on briefing the media on the basis of the findings of her visit upon return to New York,” said Géraldine Boezio, a spokeswoman for her office.

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