Amit Sosna shared today (Tuesday) for the first time in the media, in a special interview with the New York Times, the severe injuries she endured in the captivity of Hamas for 55 days, from the moment she was abducted to Gaza until her release on November 30, 2023.
In an interview with the New York Times, Sosna said that she was beaten and dragged by ten armed men during her abduction, which was recorded on video. The terrorist guarding her, who called himself Mohammed, was sleeping outside the bedroom where she was being held. After a few days in captivity, Muhammad began asking about her sex life while she was kept alone in a boy’s bedroom and shackled by her ankles. According to her, the guard would come in, sit down next to her, lift her shirt and touch her.
The terrorist asked about her sex life, Amit Sosna in the Gaza village, photo: AP
During her captivity, when Muhammad slept outside the bedroom in the adjoining living room, he would often enter her room wearing only her underwear, ask her about her sex life and offer to massage her body. When he took her to the bathroom, Mohammed refused to let Sosna close the door.
The terrorist repeatedly asked her when she was due to have her period, and when her period ended, around October 18, she tried to prevent Mohammed from sexually assaulting her by pretending that the bleeding had lasted for an entire week.
According to her, the shocking sexual assault she described happened about a week later, around October 24 – she says that the terrorist released her from the chain he used to bind her left leg, and left her alone in the bathroom. She went in to take a shower in the bathtub, and while she was there the terrorist came in and stood by the door pointing a gun at her. Sosna described that very quickly Muhammad approached her, pressed the gun to her forehead, forced her to remove the towel on her body – and then began to touch her.
Amit Sosna struggles with her kidnappers, photo: from the videos in the possession of Lahav 433
After that, the terrorist sat her on the edge of the bathtub and began to beat her severely. Finally, he forcibly dragged her to the children’s room where she was kept – and there, at gunpoint, he forced her to perform a sexual act on him. “He told me to remove the towel, after a struggle, I really did. When I tried to close my legs, he hit me and brought the gun closer and closer. After that, he left the room and when he came back he said ‘I’m bad, please don’t tell Israel’.”
During the captivity, Sosna was moved between several homes in Gaza. About three weeks after her abduction, Sosna was moved to an apartment with four other abductees. The identity of the abductees cannot be published in order to protect those who remain captive.
A few days after her arrival at the apartment, the terrorists guarding the apartment wrapped her head, forced her to sit on the floor, handcuffed her and began beating her with a gun. After a few minutes, they covered her nose and mouth, tied her legs and hung her on a stick stretched between two couches in order to hurt her. The terrorists beat Sosna vigorously, while demanding information from her. The abuse lasted about 45 minutes, during which the terrorists beat her, laughed and even called the other abductees to watch what was happening.
Amit Sosna at the moment of her release, photo: Arab Networks
On her last day in captivity, the terrorist guarding Sosna said to her, “Amit, Israel. You. One hour.” She was separated from an adult abductee she was staying with and driven through Gaza City. During the trip, another abductee, Mia Shem, was put into the car. The two were driven to Palestine Square, where a boisterous crowd awaited them who came to see them transferred to the Red Cross. The Red Cross clerk handed Sosna a phone, on which she heard an Israeli soldier greet her in Hebrew: “A few more minutes and we will meet you.”
Since her release, Amit has given detailed testimony to various officials, with the aim of documenting the brutal crimes committed by Hamas and to try and bring about the release of the abductees who remained in captivity, but has so far refrained, for obvious reasons, from revealing her story to the media.
Amit hopes that the publication of her testimony at the present time, with the resumption of negotiations for the release of the abductees, will help raise global awareness of the crimes of Hamas and put an end to the growing denials of these crimes in the world, with the aim of applying pressure to promote a deal that will return the 134 abductees home as soon as possible.
Amit Sosna in Kfar Gaza, photo: E.P
Orit Soliciano, CEO of the Association of Aid Centers for Victims of Sexual Assault: “Amit Sosna’s testimony breaks the heart, and obliges the world to act. The choice to say the things in her voice and in her face is tremendous bravery. We seek to strengthen her and stand by her at this time, and continue to echo the sexual and gender crimes committed in the war. 134 abductees remained captive to Hamas, and were exposed to abuse and sexual abuse. Every minute in captivity is a danger to lives. It is the duty of the Israeli government and the governments of the world to do whatever is necessary to bring them home.”
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