Half of Gaza hostages were raped or molested in captivity, Israel says

Israel says that about half of all hostages who survived captivity in Gaza and returned alive testified they were raped, sexual molested, or abused by their captors.

By World Israel News Staff

Approximately half of the hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip were raped, sexually abused, or molested by their captors, Israel said on Sunday — the first time the Jewish state has released figures estimating the number of captives sexually assaulted in captivity.

In a post by the State of Israel’s official X account, which is operated by the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Israel revealed that after the return of the remaining 20 surviving hostages last month, it is now estimated that half of all the captives were subjected to “significant sexual assault.”

“About 50% of the hostages endured significant sexual assault,” Israel said. “If you include being watched naked while bathing and forced to undress in front of the kidnappers as assault, the figure is higher.”

Testimonies from released hostages and witnesses, along with reports by investigators, have pointed to the widespread use of rape and other acts of sexual violence by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 attacks, as well as during captivity in Gaza.

Survivors have described rape – including gang rape – and other forced sexual acts, such as groping, public humiliation, and sexual torture, with some found partially undressed or showing signs of genital injuries.

A United Nations special envoy concluded there were “reasonable grounds” to believe rape and gang-rape occurred at several attack sites.

Israeli forensic teams and rape crisis organizations also documented patterns of forced nudity and sexualized brutality.

In July 2025, a report compiled by the Dinah Project documented at least 15 cases of severe sexual assault, including gang rape, forced nudity, and genital mutilation.