She is the first Israeli to speak publicly about sexual assaults suffered in captivity after October 7.
Amit Soussana, a 40-year-old Israeli lawyer, was kidnapped from her home on Kibbutz Kfar Aza during the attack by Hamas commandos in southern Israel.
In a long interview with the
New York Times
, she gives numerous details about the sexual violence and humiliation suffered during her captivity.
This interview was on the front pages of Israeli daily newspapers on Wednesday, some of which devoted several pages to it.
“This is a horrible testimony, it is a wake-up call, a call to the world to act, to do everything in their power and to put pressure on Hamas to release our hostages »
Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday.
“Amit Soussana speaks on behalf of all the victims of Hamas' abject crimes and sexual assaults, (...) of all women around the world
,” added Israeli President Isaac Herzog on X.
Beaten and raped
Amit Soussana described being kidnapped from her home, beaten and dragged to Gaza by at least ten men, some of them armed.
Several days after her captivity, she said, a captor began asking her questions about her sex life.
She was held alone in a child's bedroom, chained at her left ankle.
Around October 24, her jailer, who called himself Mouhammad, removed this chain from her and left her in a bathroom.
Later, he dragged her, at gunpoint, into a room,
“then he forced me, with the gun pointed at me, to commit a sexual act
,” added Ms. Soussana.
She was released on November 30.
Around 250 people were kidnapped on October 7 in Israel and 130 of them are still hostages in Gaza, of whom 34 are dead, according to Israeli authorities.
A UN report published in early March reported sexual violence committed by members of Hamas during the October 7 attack, which left more than 1,160 dead in Israel, the majority civilians.
These accusations were denied by Hamas.