Jerusalem —Former Israeli hostage Romi Gonen said she endured repeated sexual assault, harassment and intimidation during her 471 days of Hamas captivity, speaking publicly for the first time about her experience and her fear of becoming a “sex slave” in Gaza. Gonen, now 25, was kidnapped at age 23 from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, and released as part of the January 2025 hostage deal. Gonen is not the first Israeli hostage to report sexual abuse in captivity. A short while after he was released in the October 2025 ceasefire deal, Braslavski told Channel 13’s “Hazinor” that he was subjected to “horrific” and humiliating sexual violence and abuse. “They stripped me of all my clothes, my underwear, everything,” he said, adding, “It is sexual violence, and its main purpose was to humiliate me.

Source: CNN January 04, 2026 10:22 UTC