Post by : Rameen Ariff

Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who endured over two years of captivity by Hamas, has bravely revealed that he was sexually assaulted during his time in Gaza. This marks the first instance of a man openly discussing sexual abuse at the hands of Hamas while being held as a hostage.

Abducted with his friend Evyatar David on October 7, 2023, during a mass attack by Hamas at the Nova music festival in Israel, both were held for more than two years, featuring in a Hamas video in February 2025 pleading for liberation.

In a recent dialogue, Gilboa-Dalal provided harrowing details of the assault. He stated that after a shower, his captor forcibly dragged him out, denied him the chance to dress, and threw him onto an armchair. The captor proceeded to inappropriately touch him while menacing him with a rifle and a knife, cautioning that he would be killed if he disclosed the incidents.

When probed about whether the assault was a singular event, Gilboa-Dalal indicated it was not but refrained from offering additional specifics. He recalled attempts to invoke his captor’s religious convictions, asserting that such actions are forbidden in Islam, but the threats persisted.

Gilboa-Dalal and David were eventually liberated on October 13, 2025, alongside 19 other surviving hostages as part of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel effective from October 10. Their release culminated a grueling over two-year ordeal filled with unthinkable suffering.

The Israeli government has voiced deep disquiet and sorrow over these revelations. A spokesperson mentioned that the tales from released hostages are “painstaking and heartbreaking to comprehend,” yet vital for illuminating the atrocities suffered during captivity.

Earlier, in March 2024, Amit Soussana became the first hostage to publicly recount experiences of sexual abuse by a Hamas captor, highlighting a troubling trend of such abuses against hostages.

Gilboa-Dalal’s courageous account emphasizes severe human rights violations experienced by captives in the Gaza conflict and highlights the lingering psychological and physical ramifications of such hardships.

#Global