Systematic Sexual Violence Uncovered in Hostage Testimonies
Chilling new accounts of sexual violence and torture have emerged from Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, revealing a pattern of systematic abuse that includes both male and female victims. These testimonies, presented to United Nations committees, paint a harrowing picture of the depravity faced by captives during their ordeal.
Aviva Siegal, a 62-year-old who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7 along with her husband Keith, provided devastating testimony before the UN Committee Against Torture in Geneva. She described witnessing a 16-year-old female hostage being forced to perform oral sex on her captor in a shower, then compelled to smile afterwards.
Doll Clothes and Depraved Humiliation
Siegal's testimony revealed how female hostages were dressed in inappropriate clothing for their captors' amusement. 'The terrorists bring inappropriate clothes, clothes for dolls and turn the girls into their dolls,' she stated. 'Dolls on a string with which you can do whatever you want, whenever you want.'
The abuse extended beyond female victims. Siegal emphasised that male hostages endured similar treatment, stating: 'And it must be said that the boys also go through what the girls go through. They don't get pregnant, but they are also a puppet on a string.'
Her husband Keith testified about being forced to undress in front of his captors as they shaved his body and compared his body parts to those of another hostage while threatening them with knives.
Male Victims Break Their Silence
In a groundbreaking revelation, Rom Braslavsky, 21, became the first male hostage to publicly describe the sexual violence he endured during his two years in captivity. Taken from the Nova music festival where he worked as a security guard, Braslavsky described being tortured, stripped naked and abused.
'It is sexual violence, and its main purpose was to humiliate me,' he told Channel 13's Hazinor programme. 'The goal was to crush my dignity and that's exactly what he did.'
Braslavsky also endured other forms of torture including having stones forced into his ear and daily beatings while his captors laughed.
Medical Evidence Supports Widespread Abuse
Dr Itai Pessach, who treated one-quarter of all returning hostages at Sheba Medical Centre in Tel Aviv, confirmed the scale of sexual violence. Nearly fifty percent of hostages had endured significant sexual assaults, according to his assessment.
'And how do you define it? Being watched naked while bathing and forced to dress in front of a few men? To me, that also counts as assault,' Dr Pessach told the Daily Mail. 'Therefore, the figure could be far higher.'
He noted that many hostages may have blocked out their traumatic experiences, suggesting the true extent of abuse might never be fully known.
Multiple Accounts Reveal Pattern of Abuse
Amit Soussana, 40, was the first former hostage to speak publicly about her ordeal. She described being dragged from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza by ten men and subjected to sexual acts at gunpoint during captivity.
Ilana Gritzewsky, 30, abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, lost consciousness during her kidnapping after being sexually assaulted. When she awoke in Gaza, she found herself half-naked and surrounded by seven men who expressed frustration upon discovering she was menstruating.
Perhaps most disturbingly, a report from Israel's Ministry of Health documented that Hamas captors forced two minors to perform sexual acts on one another, compelled them to undress, touched their private parts, and whipped their genitalia.
Fifteen-year-old Dafna Elkayim testified that her captor threatened to join her in the shower, said he would marry her, and touched her inappropriately. She was abducted alongside her eight-year-old sister, Ela, after their father and stepmother were murdered.
October 7 Atrocities Revisited
The emerging hostage accounts echo the sexual violence documented during the initial October 7 attacks. Journalists shown censored footage at Israel's intelligence headquarters described ghastly images of women with objects violently inserted into their groin areas.
Survivors of the Nova music festival massacre reported hearing women being raped while they hid in bushes or played dead. One account submitted by the Association of Rape Crisis Centres in Israel described a woman being gang-raped and having her breasts cut off with a box cutter as terrorists took turns with her.
'They threw her breast on the floor,' said a witness, who added that afterwards the terrorists played with it 'like a toy'.
The Long Road to Recovery
Trauma specialists emphasise that victims need time, safety and psychological support before they can begin to speak about their experiences - if they ever choose to at all. The shame and stigma associated with sexual violence means many cases likely remain unreported.
For those who have spoken out, their testimonies represent not just personal accounts of suffering but crucial evidence of systematic human rights violations. As these men and women begin the difficult process of rebuilding their lives, their courage in coming forward provides vital documentation of crimes that might otherwise have remained hidden.
