Brother of Bedouin hostage held since October 7: ‘Release the women first’

The brother of Mohammad Alatrash, 40, who was kidnapped by terrorists during Hamas’s October 7 massacre, tells Belgium’s foreign minister Hadja Lahbib that female captives still held by terror groups in Gaza should be freed first in a possible hostage release deal.

“We should put pressure on them to release everyone, first of all the women,” says Salaam Alatrash. “What’s happening to them there is shocking.”

MohammadAlatrash, from the Bedouin village of Sawa in the Negev, has two wives and 13 children, including a baby who was a month old when his father was abducted on October 7, according to Ynet.

His brother’s comments, cited by the Kan broadcaster, come after The New York Times published an interview in which released hostage Amit Soussana, 40, gave testimony of being raped and attacked by her Hamas guard during captivity in Gaza.

A UN report published earlier this month also confirmed that rape and gang rape occurred during the October 7 Hamas onslaught against southern Israel, that “clear and convincing” evidence shows that hostages were raped while being held in Gaza, and that those currently held captive are still facing such abuse.