She is thus the first released Israeli hostage to publicly say that she was subjected to sexual abuse while in captivity with Hamas.
On 7 October last year, Hamas launched a terrorist attack against Israel. On the same day, Amit Soussana was abducted from his home just outside Gaza.
In an interview – which was carried out over eight hours – with the New York Times, Soussana talks about his experiences as a hostage in Gaza.
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In the interview, she says that the person who guarded her must have been very concerned about both when she had her period and about her sex life.
Even before Christmas, Israel began collecting evidence of rapes committed by Hamas. The latter has always denied the accusations.
– We categorically reject the false accusations of rape, from the occupation that tries to distort the resistance and take the focus away from the humane treatment we gave to freed hostages, they have previously written on Telegram.
In March, a group of UN experts said there is good reason to believe reports that sexual violence, including rape, was committed during the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October.
The rape accusations only came in the days after the terrorist attack.
Must have been forced
Amit Soussana tells in the interview about the weeks in captivity. She says that she must have been chained to both window frames and handles. In addition, she is said to have been kept in a darkened room.
According to Soussana, she must also have been forced to perform a sexual act on her jailer.
She says that she must have been forced to take a shower, and after a few minutes the prison guard must have shouted that she had to hurry.
– I turned around and saw him standing there – with the gun.
She says that the man allegedly hit her when she tried to cover herself with a towel.
– He sat me on the edge of the bath and I closed my legs. I fought back but he punched me and pointed the gun at my face.
After that, the man allegedly dragged Soussana into a bedroom and forced her to perform a sexual act on him.
According to Soussana, the jailer must have shown remorse after the incident. According to the woman, he must have said that he is evil and asked her not to tell Israel about it.
Soussana is praised by the other hostages’ families, through the organization Hostages Families Forum.
– Amit Soussanna’s brave testimony that describes in detail her terrible captivity is one of many from hostages who were held captive by Hamas, writes the organization according to CNN.
Hamas casts doubt
A Hamas spokesman, Basem Naim, has told the NYT that it was absolutely essential that they investigate the allegations, but that it was impossible under the current circumstances.
He nevertheless questions Soussana’s story, and why she had not gone public with it earlier. He also points out that the level of detail in the story makes it “hard to believe”.
When Soussana met the press after the liberation, she did not talk about these events. However, according to the New York Times, she is said to have told the same story to two people in the days immediately after her release.
The former hostage says she is coming forward with this information to shed more light on the situation for the remaining hostages.
According to Israeli figures, Hamas fighters are said to have taken 253 hostages during the attack on 7 October.
Soussana was released on the last day of the short-lived ceasefire – November 30 last year.
