According to Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy in a briefing on Tuesday, Israeli captives who were freed addressed the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, this week about the molestations done by Hamas terrorists against both male and female prisoners in Gaza.
Some organizations wavered, having published the material only to take it later down, claiming that more proof was required in a circumstance when getting verification is essential and challenging. This response stands in sharp contrast to the worldwide campaign against gender-based violence, which usually emphasizes the value of paying attention to women’s stories and taking survivors’ testimonies seriously.
Levy cited 48-year-old Chen Goldstein-Almog, a former hostage who told the Knesset that some female hostages had stopped getting their period while they were being held captive. She expressed her hope that this was a physical safeguard against getting pregnant as a result of being raped by their captors.
Others stated that terrorists from Hamas were also forcing women to dress and look like dolls to abuse them.
On the day Levy spoke, Israelis found out that twenty-one of their soldiers, who were all reservists, had been killed the day before in fighting in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and buildings close to the border fence when Palestinian rocket-propelled grenades struck them and detonated explosives while the buildings were being prepared for demolition. Three Israeli soldiers had died in this fighting.
Levy was emboldened by the latest testimony, which only added to the already substantial body of evidence showing that lewd and carnal violence played a significant role in Hamas’ strategy for the October 7 attacks. Levy said that UN Women, a United Nations organization that advocates for women’s welfare worldwide, and other international organizations ignored this fact for months.
Around 100 captives are still alive in Gaza, according to Israel, while at least 28 more have perished while being held captive.
