After released hostage Amit Soussana revealed that she had been sexually assaulted by a Hamas member while in captivity in the Gaza Strip, another former hostage confirmed that the sexual harassment of kidnapped Israeli women by terrorists is widespread.
“Every kidnapped woman there, as tough as it is to say, as we’ve heard in the recent testimonies, is enduring sexual harassment in one way or another,” Maya Regev told a Knesset committee, while choking back tears.
Regev and her brother Itai were both shot and badly wounded at the Nova Music Festival. While incapacitated, the siblings were kidnapped to Gaza alongside their friend, Omer Shem Tov.
Both siblings underwent surgeries in Gaza, with Itai recounting a “sweaty, nervous” Gazan doctor removing the bullet from his leg without anesthesia.
A surgery aimed at saving Maya’s leg was botched, and she is currently confined to a wheelchair.
The siblings were released in a November 2023 prisoner exchange deal, likely due to the fact that they were both in deteriorating health, while their friend remains in captivity.
Regev said that she was struggling to cope with the trauma inflicted upon her during her time in the Strip, and said that she couldn’t imagine the difficulties facing women who are still captive in the coastal enclave.
“I don’t want to describe what they’re going through there, for 179 days already,” Regev added.
Sharon Aloni-Cunio, another former Hamas captive, noted that men are not safe from sexual abuse at the hands of their captors.
“Men also suffer horrific tortures in captivity,” she said. “Don’t forget them.”
Photo: Four of the female hostages still held by Hamas