Guy Gilboa-Dalal, a 24-year-old man who spent more than two years in captivity under Hamas in Gaza, has recounted the horrifying experiences he endured, including sexual assault at knife-point.
His story is one of fear, survival, and resilience, shedding light on the brutal treatment faced by hostages during the conflict.
Kidnapped from a Music Festival
On October 7, 2023, Gilboa-Dalal was taken from the Nova music festival.
He was forced deep into a network of tunnels beneath Gaza, bound and cut off from any contact with the outside world.
The isolation compounded his terror as he was subjected to relentless abuse.
A Moment of Hygiene Turns Horrific
In a heart-wrenching interview, Gilboa-Dalal described how a simple act of showering became a scene of sexual violence.
“He let me take a shower, but when I finished, he dragged me out and wouldn’t let me dress,” he said.
He recounted being thrown onto a chair and assaulted, while being threatened with a rifle and knife.
The captor warned him that revealing the abuse would mean death.
Another Survivor Speaks Out
Gilboa-Dalal’s account follows that of Rom Brasklavski, 21, the first male hostage to speak publicly about sexual abuse in Gaza.
Brasklavski, a security guard at the festival, described being stripped naked, tied up, and humiliated repeatedly.
The assaults, he said, were intended to crush his dignity.
“It was sexual violence meant to humiliate me,” he said.
“Every day, I survived another day in hell, only to wake up to more suffering. I came back from meeting the devil.”
Sexual Torture Extends to Women and Minors
Women and children were also subjected to horrifying sexual abuse.
Accounts describe women being mutilated and gang-raped, with minors targeted in particularly cruel ways.
Aviva Siegal, 62, recounted to the UN Committee Against Torture witnessing a 16-year-old girl forced into sexual acts.
Many survivors were threatened, beaten, or forced into sham marriages.
Hostages Endured Starvation and Psychological Abuse
Sexual abuse was only part of the suffering.
Hostages were forced to watch captors eat while they went hungry, lived in near-complete isolation, and faced repeated beatings.
Some, like Avinatan Or, 32, were not allowed to meet others in captivity for years.
Infamous videos circulated by Hamas revealed the extreme malnourishment and psychological torment endured by those held.
Survivors Remember the Unimaginable
The stories paint a grim picture of cruelty and inhumanity.
One child hostage, Eitan Yahalomi, just 12 at the time of his capture, described being beaten and threatened with guns.
Many hostages did not survive; those who did bear deep physical and emotional scars.
Hamas Denies the Allegations
Despite the overwhelming accounts, Hamas has repeatedly denied the claims, dismissing them as “unfounded lies and allegations.”
The testimonies from survivors, however, continue to emerge, exposing the depth of the abuses inflicted during captivity.
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