“Sexual abuse occurred on a regular basis”: Israeli survivors reveal the ordeal experienced by hostages held captive in Gaza

Israeli survivors who were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 are recounting how the terrorist group tortured and sexually abused hostages held captive in Gaza.

Survivor Chen Goldstein-Almog, 48, watched as Hamas killed her husband and eldest daughter before kidnapping her along with three of her children, Agam, 17, Gal, 11, and Tal, 9.

In total, the Goldstein-Almog family spent 51 days in captivity until they were finally released as a result of the temporary ceasefire agreement that Hamas later violated.

In conversation with the New York Sun newspaper, the mother of the three young survivors revealed that many of the young Israeli women who were and are prisoners of Hamas suffered systematic sexual abuse.

"The captors took advantage of the girl's moments of vulnerability. When the girls were sad, crying, and yearning, their captors would stroke them and touch them in their most intimate parts," says Mrs. Goldstein-Almog.

"They described even more harsh accounts of sexual abuse under gunpoint," she explained. "This sexual abuse occurred on a regular basis, not just on the day they were kidnapped."

Goldstein-Almog then warned about the seriousness of the physical injuries suffered by the rest of the hostages remaining in Gaza, especially the young women.

"Some of the girls were badly wounded and haven't been getting the proper medical care," she stated. "Gunshot wounds, even lost limbs leaving them partly disabled. They said they can cope with the disability but not with the manner they were constantly violated. This was so difficult to hear."

Likewise, to conclude, the survivor said that the lives of the hostages are in danger if they are not released soon.

"When we left, the girls were together. We don't know if they have since been separated. That was 50 days ago. Bring them home now."

The hostages who remain in Gaza, due to Hamas breaking the truce and exchange negotiations, have already entered the period of the second hundred days of kidnapping after the fateful attacks of October 7.

Goldstein-Almog's daughter, Agam, had already said at the time that she felt the constant fear that, at any moment, she could be tortured or raped, as happened to other prisoners.

Aviva Siegal, another hostage who survived the Hamas kidnapping, testified before the Israeli Parliament and recounted one of the cases of sexual abuse committed by the terrorist group against a young Israeli girl.

"I saw that she was withdrawn, quiet, and not herself," said Siegal, 64, who is still awaiting the return home of her husband Keith, who remains captive in Gaza.

"And — excuse my language — but this son of a bitch had touched her. And he didn't even let me hug her after it happened. It's terrible, simply terrible. I told her I was sorry," continued Siegal, who later detailed how another hostage, who belonged to the Israel Defense Forces, had been tortured.

"They tortured her next to me. And I witnessed it. I witnessed what happened there. What's happening there is simply a catastrophe. It can't go on."