In First, Israeli Hostage Speaks Out Publicly About Sexual Assault by Hamas Captors
Released hostage Amit Soussana, kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, talks to the press in front of her destroyed home at the Kibbutz Kfar Aza, Israel, Jan. 29, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini
An Israeli lawyer who was held captive by Hamas terrorists for 55 days after being abducted from her kibbutz on Oct. 7 has given a chilling account of the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her captors.
In a harrowing account that was part of an investigation published in The New York Times on Tuesday, 40-year-old Amit Soussana from Kfar Aza described how a Hamas captor identified as Muhammad forced her to perform a “sexual act on him” at gunpoint among other incidents of sexual assault, all in a child’s bedroom.
Soussana is the first released hostage to detail allegations of sexual violence during Hamas captivity.
Days after her abduction on Oct. 7, Muhammad began asking her about her sex life and details about her period.
“He sat me on the edge of the bath. And I closed my legs. And I resisted. And he kept punching me and put his gun in my face,” Soussana is cited as saying by The Times. “Then he dragged me to the bedroom.”
The article went on to say that Muhammad then forced her to commit a sexual act on him. “After the assault, Muhammad left the room to wash, leaving Ms. Soussana sitting naked in the dark, she said,” the article reads.
Soussana, who was one of more than 100 hostages released in November as part of a deal between Israel and Hamas, said she was held in at least six locations during her captivity, including private homes, an office, and an underground tunnel. She said she was subjected to both physical beatings and psychological torment.
A video of Soussana’s abduction went viral in the days following Oct 7. In it, at least 10 men are seen repeatedly tackling her to the ground in attempts to restrain her. At one point, she flailed so violently when slung over a kidnapper’s back that he collapsed to the ground. The video depicts the attackers trying to subdue her through beatings and wrapping her in fabric, unsuccessfully attempting to transport her by bicycle, before finally binding her hands and feet to drag her across bumpy farmland into Gaza, as she refused to be taken “like an object,” she told The Times.
Soussana’s allegations have fueled grave concerns over the fate of Israelis still being held by Hamas. A recent UN report warned that abductees were at continued risk of sexual violence by the terror group, and also said that there was “clear and convincing information” that some hostages had been subjected to “conflict-related sexual violence.”
The same UN report also found that Hamas likely committed widespread acts of gang-rape and torture against women on Oct. 7, when the Palestinian terrorist group invaded the Jewish state, murdered 1,200 people, and kidnapped 253 others as hostages.
Mounting evidence has documented Hamas’ systematic use of torture and sexual violence, including mass rape, against the Israeli people during the onslaught.
Soussana’s decision to speak out publicly about the sexual assault she endured was driven by a desire to raise awareness about the plight of the 134 hostages still being held in Gaza, The Times reported.
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