As reported by CNN
In Tel Aviv, testimony has emerged from a recently released Israeli hostage who claims that during his detention in Gaza he was subjected to sexual violence, calling it horrific and demeaning.
Rom Braslavsky, who was working as a security guard at the Nova festival when it was kidnapped on October 7, told in an interview with Channel 13’s “Hazinor” that he was stripped naked, tied up, and kept under the control of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
He became the first male hostage to publicly report sexual violence during captivity.
“They stripped me of all my clothes, my underwear, everything. They tied me up from the very beginning …”
Braslavsky called this “definitely” sexual violence.
“This is sexual violence, and its main aim is to shame me. The goal was to degrade my dignity, and that is exactly how he acted,”
According to CNN, a request for comment was sent to Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Braslavsky was among the last 20 living hostages who were released last month after more than two years of captivity under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. He was held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a militant group in Gaza that operates in coalition with Hamas.
Video footage of the exhausted Braslavsky appeared earlier this year; his father told Israeli media that he did not recognize his own son. His mother said that he had been urged to convert to Islam in exchange for food.
“It’s hard. It was terrible,” Braslavsky said of his alleged sexual violence. “I just pray to God that this ends. And when I was there – every day, every beating – I told myself: ‘I have gone through another day in hell.’”
“Tomorrow morning I will wake up in yet another hell. And another hell. And another hell.”
Israeli hostages have also previously reported sexual violence or abuse during captivity in Gaza; one well-known case is Amit Sussana, who spoke about rape during detention by Hamas. She is one of more than a dozen former hostages who described experiencing or witnessing sexual pain during imprisonment, according to data from the Dinal Project report.
The UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, published last year a report noting the existence of “clear and compelling” evidence of sexual violence against hostages in Gaza.
Context and Reaction
This information underscores the need for further investigation and international monitoring of human rights compliance during armed conflicts, as well as support for victims and their needs for psychological and legal assistance.
Other news you may find interesting:
- Hamas returned the body of 19-year-old Israeli hostage Itay Chen to Israel, officially identified and delivered via the Red Cross amid ongoing Gaza conflict.
- Kyiv police charged a Turkish citizen with sexual violence against a 10-year-old boy, arson, and theft. The suspect is in custody facing up to 10 years in prison.
- Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmitro Lubinets monitors the hunger strike of Sergei Kuznetsov, accused in Italy of sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines, ensuring his rights and detention conditions.
