This story originally appeared in the JC Israel Briefing. You can sign up to receive the briefing daily here.
Former hostage Ilana Gritzewsky used an address to the UN Human Rights Council to accuse the global body’s Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, of ignoring evidence of sexual violence committed by Hamas during the October 7 attacks.
Gritzewsky, who was abducted with her partner Matan Zangauker from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz and released after 55 days in Hamas captivity during the first hostage deal on November 30, 2023, described her ordeal in graphic terms.
“Please look at me.”
— European Jewish Congress (@eurojewcong) June 24, 2026
Former hostage Ilana Gritzewsky addressed the UN Human Rights Council, urging the international community not to ignore the sexual violence committed by Hamas on October 7 and during captivity in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Ub2EjvQSGU
Addressing Alsalem directly, she said: “Special rapporteur, your report speaks about violence against women. Why is there no mention of Hamas? On October 7, terrorists stormed our kibbutz, murdering, kidnapping and burning.
“They touched me and sexually abused me. I was beaten and mutilated before blacking out. I woke up half naked with seven terrorists standing over me, not knowing what happened to me in those lost moments.”
She said she endured “days of pain and horror in captivity” and returned home “with a broken hip, a broken jaw, and a scarred soul”.
“People see my face and think that I’m free, but freedom is not a switch. Trauma doesn’t vanish once you are released,” she said. “Now every air raid siren and every rocket from Iran throws me back into that hell on October 7.”
Gritzewsky added: “In captivity, Jewish women were raped, abused and humiliated, and you, special rapporteur, choose silence and denial, Ms Alsalem. You say there was no evidence of sexual violence on October 7.
“I’m standing here today, not as a report, not as a statistic. I am a woman who survived. I am the living proof of sexual violence by Hamas.”
Gritzewsky accused Alsalem of ignoring evidence of sexual violence by Hamas, despite findings by other UN bodies, including a 2024 mission led by Pramila Patten and subsequent UN reports, which found “reasonable grounds to believe” that conflict-related sexual violence, including rape, took place during the October 7 attacks and against hostages held in Gaza.
Concluding her remarks, she appealed directly to the UN official: “When I, and other Israeli women, begged not to be raped, why were you silent? Please look at me. Do you believe us now? Will you apologise?”
This story originally appeared in the JC Israel Briefing. You can sign up to receive the briefing daily here.
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