Forced to have sex

First Hamas hostage speaks openly about abuse

Amit Soussana (right) after her release in front of her destroyed house in Kibbutz Kfar Aza

(Bild: Leo Correa / AP / picturedesk.com)

An Israeli woman kidnapped by Hamas in the Gaza Strip has become the first victim to speak publicly about rape and torture. A guard sexually harassed her in a private house and finally forced her to perform sexual acts with him at gunpoint, 40-year-old Amit Soussana told the "New York Times".

She was held in private homes, a school and a tunnel, among other places, the woman reported. During her captivity, she was repeatedly subjected to physical attacks, torture, humiliation and frightening situations.

Released at the end of November
Terrorists from the Islamist organization Hamas reportedly abducted Soussana from the Kibbutz Kfar Aza near the Gaza border to the coastal area on 7 October 2023 using brutal force. She was then 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 experiences in captivity coincides with what she told two doctors and a social worker less than 24 hours after her release on November 30. It had been agreed with the victim that the details would not be made public.

Terror group: "Construct of the secret service"
The terrorist organization persistently denies that its militiamen committed sexual crimes during the attack on southern Israel or in dealing with hostages, despite an overwhelming weight of circumstantial evidence. A Hamas spokesman contacted by the "New York Times" denied the credibility of the woman's statements and described them as "constructs of Israeli intelligence officers".

Victims of rape and sexualized violence are traumatized and find it extremely difficult to speak publicly about what has happened to them. The woman told the New York Times that she wanted to draw attention to the suffering of the 100 or so hostages who are still being held by Hamas.

Around 100 hostages are still being held by Islamist terrorist groups.

(Bild: AP)

Massive sexual crimes
Terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups attacked southern Israel on October 7. In the course of an unprecedented massacre, they killed 1,200 people and abducted another 250 to the Gaza Strip. During the attack, the terrorists committed massive sexual crimes against their victims. The report of a special representative of the United Nations classifies statements by survivors, eyewitnesses and doctors in this regard as credible. The same report from the beginning of March considers information that sexualized violence was and is still being perpetrated against abducted hostages to be convincing.