‘Not even the Nazis did this’: Former hostage Rom Braslavski recounts ordeal in Gaza captivity

Rom Braslavski, a former Israeli hostage who was freed last month, gave a detailed look into the horrific conditions of his captivity at the hands of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists in Gaza.

In excerpts of the full interview revealed ahead of its full publication later on Thursday, Braslavski recounted being tortured, beaten, starved, and sexually abused.

He had been kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists overran the Nova party near Re’im, where Braslavski worked as a security guard.

“They stripped me of all my clothes, my underwear, everything. They tied me up while I was completely naked,” he told Channel 13.

“I was torn apart, dying, with no food,” Braslavski said. “I prayed to God, ‘Please, save me, get me out of this already.’ And you just say to yourself, ‘What the f***?’”

Shortly after his release, Braslavski’s mother Tami told media outlets her son was whipped and beaten “with things that I will not even mention.”

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

“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.”

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

Braslavski is the first male hostage to report sexual assault against him in captivity. Several of the former female hostages have reported being subjected to such attacks.

“You just pray for it to stop,” Braslavski said. “And while I was there – every day, every beating – I’d say to myself, ‘I survived another day in hell. Tomorrow morning, I’ll wake up to another hell. And another. And another. It doesn’t end.'”

“I came back from meeting the devil,” he said.

Tami Braslavski said PIJ held her son “alone” and above ground most of the time, and that he was taken to the tunnels only “two days before his release.”

“His captors demanded that he convert to Islam. He refused. He went through abuse, and I don’t want to elaborate further,” she told Channel 13 News.

Speaking to Israel Hayom, she said that her son “was held alone for two years, and for part of the time he was held with the bodies of other hostages beside him.” 

“It’s important for him to maintain his Jewish identity because they asked him to convert to Islam,” she said. “They tried to tempt him with food and small gifts. He didn’t break down and didn’t do it.”

After his kidnapping, Braslavski’s family did not receive any sign of life for some 500 days. The first indication that he was still alive arrived when Alexander Trufanov, who spent some time with him, was released in February.

In April, PIJ released a video of Braslavski, in which he stated that he had some kind of illness and spoke of his mother. “Look at what is happening to my body – I am scratching all day and I am in pain all day. I don’t know what this illness is.” 

“I have no family, my mother sits at home, torn, crying all day, twenty-four hours. My October 7 has not ended, and it will never end in my life. It will not end,” he said in the video.

Several months later, Ofir Braslavski, father of Rom, described the agony of seeing a video released by the militant group showing his son in an emaciated and desperate state. Though the family did not approve publication of the full footage, one still image was shared.

“It’s a very hard video to watch. Extremely difficult. I, as his father, was shocked,” Ofir said. “He’s all bones. He’s crying, saying it’s hard for him. Begging to be taken out of there.”

“He can’t stand up, he can’t go to the bathroom, he has no food, no water. They're starving him… They’re probably torturing him.”

In July, PIJ falsely claimed that it had lost contact with the members of its group holding Braslavski, after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had surrounded the area where he was being held.