According to a story by The New York Times, 40-year-old Amit Soussana, a lawyer by trade, was the first Israeli prisoner to come out about the sexual assault she endured at the hands of her kidnapper.
According to Amit, she was abused not long after being kidnapped. During her incarceration, her kidnappers also beat her severely. Along with 105 other hostages, she was freed after 55 days, but she informed the press that her experience had left her traumatized.
She was being detained at a house in Gaza when the attorney claimed that she was beaten by a guy going by the name of “Muhammad.” She said that “Muhammad” had harassed her from the time she was transported to his house, which served as a temporary prison, and had lifted her blouse and touched her.
It should be mentioned that the way in which Amit was kidnapped caused her kidnapping to go viral. She was abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Azza, which is not far from the Gaza border, and was beaten by Hamas militants to subdue her during the October 7 strikes, according to videos posted on social media.
She said that when he released her so she could take a bath, “Muhammad” attacked him.
He took a seat for me on the bathtub rim. I then crossed my legs. And I refused. He also continued to hit me and pointed his pistol at me. The New York Times cited Amit Soussana as stating, “Then he dragged me to the bedroom.”
“He approached me and pressed the pistol at my forehead. Then he brought her to a kid’s bedroom decorated with Spongebob Squarepants decorations, where he sexually assaulted her while pointing a pistol at me, according to Amit Soussana.
She went on to say that “Muhammad” regularly asked to give her a massage while just wearing her underpants and that he was always interested in her sexual life. When she will receive her period was another thing that the captor wanted to know.
“He would inquire daily, ‘Did you get your period?’” Have you received your menstruation? As soon as your period ends, you will wash, take a shower, and clean your clothing, the woman said.
Muhammad begged her not to tell Israel after the torture stopped, expressing regret.
The violence continued even after Soussana was moved to a new hiding place far from Muhammad. She claims that throughout the next few weeks, she was attacked by many guards at around six different sites, including the Hamas tunnels. She was once beaten after being restrained and hung “like a chicken” between two sofas. She had many injuries, including significant bruises on her knee and back, as well as fractures to her nose, face, knee, and right eye socket.
In an effort to undermine her account, Hamas has also contested the findings of a UN assessment released earlier this month, which said that there is “clear and convincing information” that some of the captives had experienced sexual assault.
“The story is hard to believe, unless security officers were involved in its creation.” The human body is holy to us, particularly the female body. Spokesman Basem Naim sent a statement to The New York Times stating, “(Our religious beliefs) forbid any mistreatment of any human being, regardless of his sex, religion, or ethnicity.”
There are still some 130 hostages held by Hamas, and efforts to negotiate both their release and a truce have failed. Following over 1,200 civilian deaths at the hands of Hamas during the terror assaults on October 7, Israel’s reprisal has resulted in the deaths of 32,000 Palestinians.