Jailed Nukhba terrorists regularly sexually harass female guards, soldier says

A female reserve soldier details lax security at terrorist detention facility and sexual harassment she has experienced

Hamas terror suspects, caught during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and ensuing war in Gaza, crouch on the ground in the courtyard of a prison in southern Israel, February 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Hamas terror suspects, caught during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and ensuing war in Gaza, crouch on the ground in the courtyard of a prison in southern Israel, February 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Nukhba terrorists who participated in Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel are being guarded by female soldiers who are subjected to regular sexual harassment by prisoners, a reserve soldier told Channel 13 on Sunday.

Identified by the news channel only by her Hebrew initial Mem, the reserve soldier said she served in a combat position during her military service and was assigned to guard the Nukhba terrorists when she was called up for reserve duty on October 7.

Shortly after being called up, Mem was assigned to be a guard in the Sde Teiman facility, where 1,000 of the most dangerous terrorists are being held.

Mem told Channel 13 that every female guard at the facility has been subjected to some form of sexual harassment, from the terrorists blowing kisses at them to suggestive comments to spitting on the floor when they hear women speak.

She added that during her years of serving in the army and in reserve duty, she went through a lot of difficult experiences, but that she especially feels bad for “18-year-old girls who have to start their military service like this.”

Meanwhile, a photo obtained by Channel 13 from the facility showed that female soldiers are expected to stand next to the terrorists while guarding them, and Mem added that the most dangerous part of the complex is the field hospital that was set up for the terrorists, where there is little security.

Hamas terrorists who were caught during the October 7 massacre and during the IDF operation in the Gaza Strip, seen at a courtyard in a prison in southern Israel, February 14, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

She described an incident where one of the male nurses at the hospital accused her of pointing her gun at him.

“I said to him, ‘I’m not aiming my gun at you, I’m aiming at them. I’m supposed to be on guard,'” Mem said, but two hours later, her commander messaged her forbidding her from aiming her gun at the terrorists.

While the terrorists are being treated in the hospital, their handcuffs are removed and the female guards have to keep watch on them in close proximity.

“There are a few seconds each time when they can do anything to us,” Mem said.

Mem was on guard duty when she heard a female soldier in the hospital shouting, so she went to see if she could help. When she got there, a terrorist had pulled down his underwear and started to pleasure himself while looking the two women in the eyes and smiling. Mem said she ordered him to stop but he ignored her.

“He shocked me, I froze. I could see it in his eyes that he really enjoyed humiliating us,” she said.

Masked members from the Izz a-din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, wave the green flags of the Islamist group during a protest in support of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, after Friday prayer in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

She reported the incident, she said, and was told that it would be handled but no investigation was started and there were no consequences. When she requested again that something be done about it, she was told to leave the situation as is.

“[My commander] said to me, ‘Listen, just keep this between us,'” she said.

“They turned me, a combat soldier, into the smallest person in the world.”

Responding to a request for comment, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit told Channel 13 that “the incident was reported to the commanders at the facility, and a complaint was filed to Israel Police against the terrorists. Every report is looked into and dealt with accordingly. The IDF does everything to ensure the safety of its soldiers.”

However, Channel 13 noted that it had checked police records and found no complaint against the terrorist.

Hamas’s commando Nukhba Force led the October 7 attack on Israel in which terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 252. Confessions from terrorists interrogated by the IDF as well as testimonies from survivors and organizations that dealt with the bodies attest to widespread sexual abuse by the terrorists during the attack.

Testimonies from some of the 105 hostages released during a weeklong truce in November also indicate that sexual abuse is being used against those in captivity.

Since October 7, more than 4,000 arrests have been made of suspected terrorists. While some were arrested in Israel in the days following the attack, the vast majority were apprehended in Gaza during Israel’s ongoing ground invasion.

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