Former Israeli hostage Romi Gonen recalls sexual abuse during Hamas captivity

The former female hostage Romi Gonen revealed on Thursday that she was sexually abused by Hamas terrorists during her captivity in the Gaza Strip. Gonen was kidnapped by Hamas operatives from the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, 2023, and was released in January as part of an internationally brokered deal between Hamas and Israel.

Speaking to Israel's Channel 12 News program “Uvda,” she said people usually avoid asking her about the sexual assaults she experienced during her long captivity in Gaza.

"I would not ask it if I were them. I also think no one asks it because no one wants to hear the answer," Gonen said. "Only when you're in this situation can you grasp what happens to the body. And fear – it sometimes paralyzes."

"I was paralyzed. I think not a lot went through my mind in those moments, except being terrified, really disgusted, and asking why?.. it's just not fair," she continued.

She revealed one particular incident during her interview.

"There was this one moment in the bathroom, while everything is happening – I was crying like crazy," she recalled, adding that the terrorist was "having the time of his life, was ecstatic, and had received the gift of a lifetime."

"I remember one moment looking – there was a small window, like a picture frame, and I look through the window – the sky is blue, the birds are chirping, and this is the situation I am in right now!" Gonen continued. "The dissonance between life outside – the beautiful, ordinary clean life – and the filth, beastliness, and disgust that is happening here inside this bathroom," she explained.

"When he left the bathroom, I left after him. My ears were ringing; I couldn't hear anything. I walked around and felt like the whole world was spinning, and I am completely deaf," she said.

"All the way to the living room, my thoughts were, 'Romi, everyone in Israel thinks you're dead, and you're going to be his sex slave for life,'" she recalled telling herself.

"I sit on the armchair in the living room, and I'm in absolute shock. Tears don't just fall from my eyes – they're pouring down. My legs were drenched from my tears," she added.

"He looked at me and said, 'Romi, are you good?' and I looked back at him, and my head was like, 'You son of a bitch, what are you asking me? Are you that rude to ask me that question?'" she explained.

"I said to myself, there was nothing I could do. 'This is the situation you are in, and it is the worst there is.' But even in this situation, you can't dwell on the bad. You have to get a grip, and that's what's going through my mind," Gonen continued.

"Then he comes up to me, puts a gun to my head, and tells me, 'If you tell anyone, I am going to kill you.'"

In response to Gonen's interview, Israeli President Isaac Herzog praised Gonen’s “extraordinary courage” and called her difficult testimony “heartbreaking.”

“Her story must be told everywhere, so that all will remember what we endured as a people, what the hostages endured, and what Romi endured. Romi, you are a true hero. We salute your courage," Herzog stated.

Many former hostages, including male hostages, have revealed that they were subjected to sexual abuse and assaults by Hamas terrorists during their captivity in Gaza.

Last month, the former hostage Rom Braslavski revealed that he was sexually assaulted by Hamas during his captivity in Gaza.

“It was sexual violence – and its main purpose was to humiliate me,” Braslavski said. “The goal was to crush my dignity. And that’s exactly what [they] did,” he added.

“It’s hard for me to talk about that part specifically. I don’t like to talk about it. It’s hard. It was the most horrific thing,” he continued.

“It’s something even the Nazis didn’t do. During Hitler’s time, they wouldn’t have done things like this.”