Hamas terrorists kidnapping Israeli women at the Nahal Oz base near the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023. Photo: Screenshot
Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip were subjected to unspeakable abuse, including sexual torture in which teenagers were forced to perform sex acts on one another, starvation, beatings, burnings, and severe medical neglect, according to a new report that will be submitted by Israel to the United Nations this week.
Children were branded with heated objects and beaten, while women and girls endured sexual assault and psychological humiliation, the report said. Male hostages described being left in isolation, denied food and water, and forced to defecate on themselves, as well as beatings and burnings with irons.
Based on extensive interviews and medical evaluations conducted by Israeli health and welfare teams for more than 100 hostages, the report will be submitted later this week to Alice Edwards, the UN’s special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
The hostages, who were mostly released at the end of November 2023 as part of a week-long ceasefire deal with Hamas, were among the 251 individuals snatched by the terrorist group in southern Israel during its invasion and brutal assault on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were murdered. Some of the hostages were freed in rescue operations by Israeli forces. Approximately 100 hostages remain in captivity.
Children and other hostages were forced to watch footage from the Oct. 7 attack.
They also “witnessed the killing of other captives, further deepening their sense of helplessness and hopelessness,” the report said.
“In captivity, the hostages were often subjected to solitary confinement, poor sanitation, severe medical neglect, lack of sleep, starvation, sexual abuse, violence, threats, and brainwashing through media designed to break their spirit and make them submissive,” it continued.
One child, according to the report, was tied to a chair for extended periods and beaten if they cried. Another survivor recounted how captors extinguished cigarettes on their arms and legs as a form of punishment.
The report highlighted the experiences of women hostages, who faced some of the most egregious abuses. One survivor described being tied to a bed and left for hours, while guards watched her distress for their own amusement. Some were forced to perform humiliating acts under the threat of violence. Others were sexually assaulted by their captors.
Among the elderly hostages, medical neglect was particularly severe. Diabetics were denied insulin, while others with chronic conditions like hypertension or heart disease were left without necessary medications. Some were given food that exacerbated their illnesses or were denied adequate hydration, leaving them weak and unable to stand.
According to the report, in the days leading up to last year’s ceasefire agreement, the captors made noticeable efforts to improve the hostages’ living conditions. They increased food rations and distributed clean clothing, actions that appeared intended to mask the harsh realities of their captivity and give the impression of humane treatment.
In addition to detailing the abuse, the report also criticized the international community for what it described as insufficient action to secure the hostages’ release. To date, the International Red Cross has not accessed the hostages.
The report is “a harrowing testimony to the brutal experiences suffered by the hostages in Hamas captivity,” Israeli health minister Uriel Busso said in a statement released alongside the report. “The horrors the hostages endured reveals to the world the brutality of the enemy with whom Israel is engaged.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said the UN was “morally obliged” to bring the remaining hostages home.
“These are the testimonies of those who have been released and rescued. But still, for 450 days 100 innocent men, women, and children, babies and the elderly, have been held hostage in Gaza. With the winter upon us, their lives are in imminent danger,” he said.
Torture. Physical and psychological torture. Starvation. Sexual abuse. Beatings. Branding.
Just some of the horrific words that jump of the pages of the Ministry of Health’s submission to the UN on the horrific ordeal endured by the hostages at the hands of Hamas terrorist…
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) December 29, 2024
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum called on global leaders to act urgently to secure the release of all hostages in Gaza, warning that |every hostage faces mortal danger each day they remain in captivity.”
“To the world, its leaders, and humanitarian organizations: How can you watch this torture continue? How can you remain silent?” a statement released by the forum said.
Urging the United States and mediating parties to prioritize a comprehensive ceasefire deal for the release of all hostages, the forum stated, “The time to act is now. Lives hang in the balance.”
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