Ex-hostage Ilana Gritzewsky says ‘political cowardice’ endangers captives

Recounting the abuse she experienced in Hamas captivity, released hostage Ilana Gritzewsky on Monday urged lawmakers to have the “courage” to sign a deal that would free the remaining hostages and end the war in Gaza.

Speaking at a hearing on Hamas’s sexual crimes in the Knesset’s Foreign Policy and Public Diplomacy Subcommittee, Gritzewsky, 31, recalled graphic details of her time in captivity and said “hellish deeds” were “etched into my body.”

Gritzewsky was taken hostage along with her boyfriend, Matan Zangauker, who is still held captive by Hamas and thought to be alive. She was released during the November 2023 ceasefire.

“I was captive for 55 days, 55 days of hell that there are no words to describe, unending pain, degradation with no bottom, fear that burns inside,” she said in emotional testimony. “I remember the weapon against my head, I remember them laughing as they pulled me and dragged me by my hair, I remember dirty hands that stole everything I was from me.”

She continued, “I became a piece of property. I became a captive who they could come to touch, to tell me we would get married, to leave me in underwear and a bra whenever they wanted.”

Monday’s hearing discussed a report released last week by a group called the Dinah Project, which lays out a framework for prosecuting Hamas terrorists for using sexual violence as a weapon of war. Three of the report’s co-authors also spoke alongside Gritzewsky.

Gritzewsky who, along with Zangauker’s mother Einav has become one of the most vocal advocates for the hostages held by Hamas, has spoken previously about being abused in Hamas captivity. In a March interview with The New York Times, she said that after being taken hostage, she woke up half-naked, surrounded by gunmen.

In her testimony, Gritzewsky castigated international women’s rights groups and other humanitarian organizations for not “raising their voice” over the sexual crimes committed by Hamas.

But most of her remarks were focused on urging Israeli lawmakers to sign an agreement that would end the war and free the 50 remaining Israeli hostages, at least 20 of whom are believed to be alive. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for a deal to end the war, but ongoing negotiations in Qatar over an agreement have yet to yield a breakthrough.

Gritzewsky, who moved to Israel from Mexico as a teen, said she came to the country in part because of its “one simple promise that if you fall, someone will pick you up; that if you’re taken, someone will bring you back.” She said lawmakers had not kept that promise.

“I’m not asking for mercy, I demand responsibility,” she said. “It’s not diplomatic complexity, it’s a basic responsibility of a government to its citizens, and it’s an embarrassment that it hasn’t happened yet.”

She then addressed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the rest of the members of Knesset.

“You’re the one who has to explain to the hostage families — to their children, to their parents, to their partners — why they’re still there, why the deal hasn’t been signed, why your political cowardice is stealing real people’s lives,” she said. “You’ll be remembered not for your speeches but your deeds, and sometimes to make a deal demands more courage than continuing a war.”

She also called for an end to the war, saying an agreement would mean Israel no longer had to “sacrifice” its soldiers.

“They also have families that deserve to have them come home,” she said. “There’s a way to save all the soldiers and all the hostages, a deal that’s on the table. Enough sacrificing them.”

Gritzewsky made similar comments at an event last week presenting the Dinah Project’s report to First Lady Michal Herzog. The report gathers and categorizes evidence of Hamas’s sexual crimes on and after its October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel, and says collective criminal responsibility for that sexual violence should be imposed on all the participants in the attack.