Four survivors told authorities they were sexually assaulted on October 7 – report
Firsthand accounts of such crimes have been rare, as most victims were killed; report follows earlier testimony from man who said he was raped by terrorists at Nova festival
Four people have told authorities that they were sexually assaulted by terrorists on October 7, Channel 12 reported Thursday, adding to a growing body of evidence of the systematic sexual assault committed by Hamas.
Unlike most of the previous evidence of sexual assault on October 7, which was largely based on eyewitness testimony, the Channel 12 report is notable because it is based on the firsthand accounts of victims.
Firsthand testimony of such crimes has been rare, as most of the victims were killed, a fact that some October 7 deniers have used to sow doubts about the allegations.
According to the report, the four individuals approached the Welfare Ministry with their accounts of what happened to them during the Hamas onslaught, which also saw some 1,200 people killed and 251 kidnapped.
The report followed a separate Channel 12 story on Wednesday that provided first-hand testimony from a man who said he was raped by terrorists at the Supernova Festival, where hundreds of people were killed.
Israeli police have been collecting survivor testimony, physical evidence, and confessions of sexual assault by terrorists on October 7 since the immediate aftermath of the attack.
A February report by the United Nations Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict found that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that conflict-related sexual violence occurred during the 7 October attacks in multiple locations across the Gaza periphery, including rape and gang rape, in at least three locations.”
The report also testified to “clear and convincing” evidence that hostages were raped while being held in Gaza, and that those currently held captive are still facing such abuse.
Further evidence was made public in April by the release of a one-hour documentary on the topic directed by former Meta CEO Sheryl Sandberg, called “Screams Before Silence.”
Amit Soussana, an Israeli hostage who was released during a weeklong truce in November, was the first to speak publicly about being sexually abused in captivity, recounting being marched at gunpoint to the bedroom of her captor, where he forced her to “commit a sexual act on him.”
Teenager Agam Goldstein-Almog, also released in the November deal, reported having been groped by captors and being constantly afraid she would be raped.
“Half of the girls and young women I met in captivity told me they experienced sexual or physical abuse or both. They are still living there with their rapists,” she said at the time.
