Freed Israeli Hostage Reveals Sexual Abuse and Torture by Captors in Gaza

Rom Braslavski, a 21-year-old Israeli who was kidnapped by terrorists during the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, has come forward with harrowing testimony about the sexual abuse, torture, and psychological torment he endured over two years in captivity in Gaza.

In a powerful interview excerpt aired by Israel’s Channel 13 News, Braslavski described being stripped naked, tied up, beaten, and subjected to systematic sexual violence by members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad. His goal in speaking out, he said, is to shed light on the depth of cruelty inflicted on hostages behind closed doors in Gaza’s tunnel system.

“They stripped me of all my clothes underwear, everything. They tied me up … while I was completely naked,” Braslavski recalled. “I was torn apart, dying, with no food.”

He explained that the sexual violence was not only physical, but designed to humiliate and degrade him on a human level. “The goal was to crush my dignity,” he said. “And that’s exactly what they did.”

Braslavski’s voice trembled as he admitted, “It’s hard for me to talk about that part. It was the most horrific thing.”

He compared the depravity of his captors to unspeakable atrocities, saying, “It’s something even the Nazis didn’t do. During Hitler’s time, they wouldn’t have done things like this. Every day I’d say to myself, ‘I survived another day in hell.’”

After two years of solitary confinement and torment, Braslavski was released last month as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, one of 20 living hostages returned from Gaza. His mother, Tami Braslavski, confirmed that her son had been kept alone for the duration and was offered better treatment in exchange for converting to Islam, which he refused.

“I came back from meeting the devil,” Rom said, summing up his experience with chilling clarity.

His testimony is among the most graphic and personal accounts to emerge from the ongoing conflict and underscores the barbaric brutality that Hamas and its affiliates inflicted on their captives. These are not abstract geopolitical disputes they are human atrocities that demand international attention and condemnation.

The full interview is scheduled to air Thursday night in Israel, expected to offer further insight into the lives of hostages and the urgent need for global awareness of the crimes committed against them.

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