One of the Palestinian militants holding an Israeli hostage in Gaza allegedly sexually raped her at gunpoint before she was recently set free. She has never before discussed this personal experience in an interview with the New York Times.
On October 7, 40-year-old Amit Soussana was kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She was seen retaliating against her kidnappers in security camera footage. She said that after washing in her bathroom on October 24, she was attacked by the man who was watching over her.
Soussana claimed that when she was chained by her left ankle and left alone in a child’s bedroom, the guard would come in, sit next to her on the bed, pull her shirt, and touch her.
She said the guard kept asking Soussana when her period was due. Around October 18, when her period finished, she tried to avoid him by acting as though she had been bleeding for about a week.
Furthermore, according to Soussana, her kidnapper freed her one day, let her take a shower, and gave her a pot of hot water to wash herself in. He entered the room and waited in the doorway with a pistol in his hand while she was getting ready.
Soussana recalled, “He came towards me and shoved the gun at my forehead.” According to Soussana, who was cited by The New York Times, “Muhammad groped her, sat her on the edge of the bathtub and hit her again” after slapping her and making her take off her towel.
According to The Times, Soussana’s story matched what she stated to two physicians and a social worker within twenty-four hours of her release on November 30 during a seven-day ceasefire.
“The newspaper said they wouldn’t tell exactly what happened in her account, but they did describe the sexual act. “Isaac Herzog, the president of Israel, stated on Tuesday that Soussana “speaks for all those who cannot speak.” She speaks for every victim of the heinous sexual crimes and abuse committed by Hamas. He remarked on The New York Times piece on his X account, saying, “She speaks for all women everywhere.”
