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Amit Soussana was abducted from her home by Hamas on October 7

Photo: Alexandre Meneghini / REUTERS

An Israeli woman kidnapped by Hamas in the Gaza Strip has become the first victim to speak publicly about the sexual abuse and torture she suffered there. During her captivity, she was repeatedly exposed to physical attacks, torture, humiliation and frightening situations, said 40-year-old Amit Soussana to the New York Times. One of her guards sexually harassed her in a private home and eventually forced her to perform sexual acts with him at gunpoint. During her captivity, she was repeatedly exposed to physical attacks, torture, humiliation and frightening situations. She was held in private houses, a school and a tunnel, among other places.

Around 100 hostages still in Hamas captivity

According to their own statements, terrorists from the Islamist organization Hamas kidnapped the woman by force from Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the border with Gaza to the coastal area on October 7, 2023. She was released at the end of November, when Israel and Hamas exchanged 110 hostages for around 400 Palestinian prisoners.

According to the New York Times, her personal account of her experience in captivity matches what she told two doctors and a social worker less than 24 hours after her release on November 30. It was agreed with the victim that the details would not be made public.

Hamas denies that its militants committed sexual crimes while invading southern Israel or handling hostages, despite an overwhelming weight of circumstantial evidence. A Hamas spokesman contacted by the New York Times denied the woman's statements were credible and described them as "constructions of (Israeli) intelligence officers."

The woman told the New York Times that she wanted to draw attention to the suffering of around 100 hostages who are still in the hands of Hamas. Victims of rape and sexual violence are traumatized - they find it difficult to speak publicly about what has happened to them.

Terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups attacked southern Israel on October 7th. In an unprecedented massacre, they killed 1,200 people and kidnapped another 250 to the Gaza Strip.

Already during the attack, the terrorists committed massive sexual crimes against their victims. The report by a special representative of the United Nations considers statements from survivors, eyewitnesses and doctors to be credible. The same report from the beginning of March considers information that sexual violence has been and is still being committed against abducted hostages to be convincing.

lph/dpa