Tel Aviv
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A lately freed Israeli hostage has alleged he was subjected to “horrific” and humiliating sexual assault whereas held captive in Gaza.
Rom Braslavski, who was working as a safety guard when he was kidnapped from the Nova music pageant on October 7, mentioned in an interview with Channel 13’s “Hazinor” that he was stripped bare and tied up whereas he was held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
He is the primary male hostage to publicly allege he was sexually assaulted whereas in captivity.
“They stripped me of all my clothes, my underwear, everything. They tied me up from the …” Braslavski, 21, mentioned, his voice trailing off with out ending his sentence. “When I was completely naked. I was wiped out, dying without food. And I prayed to God – save me, get me out of this already, and you just say to yourself like … what the hell is going on?”
Braslavski mentioned it was “unequivocally” sexual assault.
“It is sexual violence and its main purpose was to humiliate me. The goal was to crush my dignity and that’s exactly what he did,” Braslavski mentioned in the interview, which was filmed final week and shared with NCS. “It’s hard for me to talk about that part, specifically. I don’t like to talk about it.”
NCS has approached Palestinian Islamic Jihad for remark.
Braslavski was among the many ultimate 20 residing hostages launched final month after greater than two years in captivity as a part of the ceasefire settlement between Israel and Hamas. He was held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group in Gaza allied with Hamas which additionally held Israeli hostages through the warfare.
The militants launched footage of an emaciated Braslavski earlier this 12 months, along with his father saying he didn’t acknowledge his son. His mom told Israeli media he was allegedly pressured to transform to Islam in alternate for meals.
“It’s hard. It was a horrific thing,” Braslavski mentioned of his alleged sexual assault. “You just pray to God for it to stop. 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 hell. And another hell,” he mentioned. “It doesn’t end.”
Other Israeli hostages alleged they had been sexually assaulted or abused whereas in Hamas captivity, an allegation Hamas officers repeatedly denied. But till now, it had been solely feminine hostages coming ahead.
Amit Soussana, an Israeli hostage who was launched after practically two months in captivity, alleged she was sexually assaulted at gunpoint by her Hamas guard. She is certainly one of greater than a dozen former hostages who described experiencing or witnessing sexual violence whereas in captivity, in keeping with a report compiled by the Dinal Project.
The UN’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten additionally printed a report final 12 months which alleges they found “clear and convincing” information that hostages in Gaza had been sexually abused.