Melania Trump to present released hostage Amit Soussana with State Department’s International Woman of Courage Award

Released hostage Amit Soussana will receive the US State Department’s International Woman of Courage Award at a ceremony next week.

Soussana, who has advocated around the world on behalf of the hostages since her release, even opening up about sexual assault she endured while in captivity.

“I accept this award on behalf of the women who fought in the war, and on behalf of the women who suffered in captivity — who found strength in one another in order to survive the unimaginable,” she says in a statement revealing her selection for the award along with seven other women worldwide.

In announcing the award, the State Department says, “Amit Soussana uses her voice to courageously advocate for survivors by using her own lived example to describe the trauma she suffered as a hostage of the October 7th attack in Israel.”

“Ms. Soussana has raised awareness of the conditions faced by the women, men, girls, and boys who remain hostages of Hamas.”

“As an attorney at law, she holds an LLB from Sapir College and has been a licensed member of the Israel Bar Association since 2014.”

“Ms. Soussana has extensive experience in intellectual property law, having worked at Luzzatto & Luzzatto, Attorneys and Patent Attorneys from 2015 to 2024, where she managed client files, negotiated with foreign patent attorney offices, and handled patent and trademark registrations both in Israel and abroad,” the State Department says. “Ms. Soussana is an advocate for the hostages that remain under Hamas control following the October 7, 2023 attacks.”