A recent report from the Israeli Health Ministry, set to be presented to the United Nations this week, reveals that hostages held in Gaza endured severe forms of torture, including sexual and psychological abuse, starvation, burns, and medical neglect.
This report is founded on interviews conducted with medical and welfare teams that provided care to over 100 Israeli and foreign hostages, the majority of whom were released during a brief ceasefire in late November 2023 between Israel and Hamas. Additionally, eight hostages were rescued by the Israeli military.
Among the hostages are more than 30 children and teenagers, with some reported to have been bound, beaten, or branded with heated objects, as detailed in the report submitted to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture and released late Saturday.
Women have reported instances of sexual assault by their captors, often occurring under the threat of firearms. Men faced beatings, starvation, branding, isolation, and were denied access to basic sanitation, according to the findings. Furthermore, some hostages were deprived of necessary medical treatment for their injuries and health issues.
To safeguard the privacy of the hostages, the report refrains from disclosing their names or ages; however, certain descriptions align with accounts given by hostages and medical personnel in interviews with Reuters and other news outlets, as well as a U.N. report.
Hamas has consistently denied allegations of abuse against the 251 hostages taken from Israel during its assault on October 7, 2023. Israeli authorities estimate that approximately half of the 100 hostages still in Gaza are believed to be alive.
Recent efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza, which would include a hostage exchange, have gained traction in recent weeks, although no significant progress has been reported thus far.
The conflict commenced with Hamas’s attack in October 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 individuals, predominantly civilians, according to Israeli officials.
In response, Israel’s military operations against Hamas have led to the deaths of over 45,000 Palestinians, most of whom are civilians, as reported by Palestinian health authorities, displacing nearly the entire population of Gaza and leaving much of the region in ruins.
