Former Israeli hostage Romi Gonen has publicly revealed that she endured repeated sexual assaults and harassment by multiple men during her 471 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza. Gonen, who was abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, shared her harrowing experience in a recent two-part interview on Israel's Channel 12 program "Uvda." Her testimony sheds light on the brutal realities faced by some hostages.
Gonen described feeling powerless and fearing for her life during her ordeal. "I was injured, I had no power. All that went through my head was: 'Romi, everyone in Israel thinks you’re dead, and you’re going to be a sex slave in captivity,'" she stated in an account referenced by Aviva Klompas. She was released in January 2025 as part of a hostage deal.
The 25-year-old recounted several incidents, including an assault by a medic on her fourth day in captivity and a "worst" assault in a bathroom, after which a captor threatened her with a gun, warning her not to speak about it. She also claimed that a senior Hamas commander offered her early release in exchange for her silence regarding the sexual abuse.
Gonen's account aligns with broader reports of sexual violence against Israeli hostages. A July 2025 report by the Dinah Project, an Israeli research group, indicated that 13 women and two men who survived captivity experienced or witnessed sexual violence. These findings suggest that sexual violence was used systematically as a "weapon of war" by Hamas.
In November 2025, Rom Braslavski became the first male hostage to publicly detail sexual abuse during his captivity, describing "horrific" and humiliating acts. Hamas has consistently denied these allegations of sexual violence. Gonen’s courageous testimony adds a critical voice to the growing body of evidence concerning the treatment of hostages.
