Hamas Forced Child Hostages To Commit Sexual Acts On Each Other

The Israeli Health Ministry is releasing its report to the UN Special Rapporteur Alice Edward detailing allegations lain by former hostages that Hamas captors internationally starved, raped, and tortured them in captivity, and forced teens to perform sexual acts on one another.

Israeli published its report in Hebrew on December 28, providing details provided by the former abductees, among whom are children. Testimonies were compiled of hostages released under a November 2023 deal, as well as those rescued by Israeli armed forces. The report shows that some were burned, branded, starved, and humiliated. It also details their physical and psychological state following their liberation. Some of the details in the Hebrew language version were absent in the English version. It is unclear which version has been submitted to the UN. 

The names, ages, sex, and family status of the hostages were not included so as to protect their identities. 

The report said that the terrorists forced two children to strip and perform sexual acts on each other. The captors touched and whipped their genitalia. The two former hostages also reported that “they were held bound and were beaten throughout their captivity. Signs of binding, scars, and marks consistent with trauma were found,” the report says.

“Additionally, two young children had burn marks on their lower limbs,” the report added. “One child stated that the burns were the result of a deliberate branding with a heated object. Both the child and adults who were with him in captivity described the incident as a purposeful branding event, not an accident. It was described as an extremely traumatic experience.”

Some hostages were kept with their hands and feet bound for days in darkness, and received little food or water. They were beaten and had hair pulled out.

“One of the returned hostages described being sexually assaulted at gunpoint by a Hamas terrorist,” the report said. “On several occasions, captors forced women of all ages to undress while others, including the captors, watched. Some women reported that the captors sexually assaulted them. In addition, some women reported that they were tied to beds while their captors stared at them.”

Some former hostages have spoken publicly. For example, freed hostage Amit Soussana told The New York Times of how she was forced to perform “a sexual act” on one of her captors.

Of the total 251 hostages abducted from Israel on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led onslaught in southern Israel that killed 1,200 people, 96 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF. In November this year, Hamas released 105 civilians during a truce, while four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 38 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.

Hamas deliberately separated hostages from other family members who were being held. For example, a woman was held in complete isolation, in darkness, bound, receiving very little water and food and not getting treatment for injuries.

“The hostages were denied medical treatment for acute injuries caused during October 7 and subsequently, in addition to for untreated chronic conditions,” the document says. “Fractures, shrapnel wounds, and burns were treated inadequately, leading to complications which required additional surgeries, that could have been prevented with proper care.

“The captors also tortured those injured by performing painful procedures without anesthesia. Many hostages also suffered from untreated chronic conditions (e.g., heart failure, diabetes, hypothyroidism), leading to severe short-term medical deterioration. In one case a hostage died from untreated medical complications,” it said.

Hostages, including children, were forced to watch videos of the October 7 atrocities. Many of the terrorists who took part in the attack filmed it, including acts of cruelty. Male captives “endured severe physical abuse, including continuous starvation, beatings, burns with galvanized iron (branding), hair-pulling, confinement in closed rooms with a limited amount of food and water, being held in isolation with hands and feet tied, and being denied access to the bathroom, which forced them to defecate on themselves.”

The report said that the captivity “was designed to torture the hostages psychologically, break their morale, and make them easier to control. Their time in captivity was marked by intense trauma: family separation, immobilization, arbitrary and frequent transfers, and exposure to further violence.”

Some captives “witnessed the killing of other captives, further deepening their sense of helplessness and hopelessness. In captivity, the hostages were often subjected to solitary confinement, poor sanitation, severe medical neglect, lack of sleep, starvation, sexual abuse, violence, threats, and brainwashing through media designed to break their spirit and make them submissive.”

Deliberate starvation and pre-release excess feeding

According to the report, “about half of the returned hostages described being deliberately starved during their captivity. They were given a poor diet, which often led to hunger that worsened over time. In addition to inadequate nutrition, they were kept in dark spaces, increasing the risk of vitamin D deficiency.”

Adult hostages lost an average of eight to 15 kilograms (18 to 33 pounds) — 10-17 percent of their original body weight — while among child captives there was an average loss of 10% in body weight, though in one extreme case, a girl lost as much as 18% of her weight.

The report says that as last year’s ceasefire deal approached, the captors gave the hostages more food and provided them with fresh clothes, apparently in an attempt to present their conditions as better than they were.

“Those who received excess food before returning to Israel were at risk of Refeeding Syndrome and electrolyte imbalances such as hypokalemia, hypomagnesemia, and hypophosphatemia, particularly among elderly hostages. In cases with complex medical backgrounds, these electrolyte disorders can be life-threatening,” the report said.
 

Psychological trauma

Some adult and child hostages suffered acute anxiety and panic attacks, as well as sharp mood swings that include extreme depression, following their liberation. “Even those who appeared strong initially showed difficulties adjusting to reality, sometimes experiencing dissociative episodes…Some returned hostages had paranoid anxieties, fearing retaliation against their loved ones still in captivity if they spoke about their experiences,” the report said.

Some had difficulty leaving home or speaking above a whisper, and some were unable to return to their regular lives, whether at work or school. Others have difficulty sleeping at night. Children, in particular, suffer inexplicable sharp pains. Some former captives exhibit eating disorders, either eating too little or too much. Children are observed hiding food. Some reported “severe nightmares and sleep deprivation, trying to avoid repeating nightmares. Some experienced derealization, struggling to accept their presence in the Israeli hospital as real, rather than a dream from captivity. They avoided anything that reminded them of their traumatic experiences, including certain foods,” the report says.

Hostages “experience fear, restlessness, emotional detachment, and confusion. Some were afraid to leave their rooms, even in the hospital’s protected areas.” Many released hostages say they are unable to recover fully so long as they know others are still held hostage. Some exhibit “survivor’s guilt,” and feel guilty for while their loved ones remain in Gaza.

Health Minister Uriel Buso said in a statement last week “The testimonies brought here are a wake-up call to the world to put more pressure on Hamas and its supporters to release all of them [the remaining hostages] now.”