Testimony of Terror: Former Hostages Expose Sexual Abuse and Torture by Hamas Terrorists at UN
Former hostages Aviva and Keith Siegel delivered harrowing testimony to the UN Committee Against Torture, detailing severe sexual violence, physical torture, and systemic degradation endured under Hamas control in Gaza.
In chilling testimony delivered to the United Nations Committee Against Torture in Geneva, former hostages Aviva and Keith Siegel, abducted from their home at Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7, revealed horrifying new details of sexual assault, starvation, degradation, and brutality endured in Hamas captivity.
The couple, who were released after an extended period of captivity, appeared before the UN Committee Against Torture, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) as part of an Israeli delegation led by Justice Ministry Director-General Itamar Donenfeld.
Sexual Violence and Psychological Torture
Aviva Siegel recounted terrifying moments, including witnessing multiple instances of sexual attacks against young women and girls. In a heartbreaking account, Aviva described a 16-year-old girl being forced to shower naked in front of a Hamas terrorist. The teenager had never shown her body to anyone before. Aviva said, with a broken voice, that the terrorist "just stood there, looked at her and smiled."
Aviva also described a young woman emerging from the shower trembling, who later confided that a terrorist “touched her whole body and behaved with her as he wished.” Furthermore, she spoke of another young woman who was taken to the shower and "cruelly raped" by a terrorist who forced her to perform oral sex and smile afterward.
Aviva shared the absolute control imposed by their captors: "They forced us to lie down from 5 PM until 9 AM the next day, we were forbidden to move. My body hurt. I wanted to stretch myself. I wanted to sit down. I wanted to scream, 'Just let me sit for 5 minutes.' They didn't let me, they threatened to kill me." She described one small but potent example of this control: a terrorist screaming at her for taking her leg out from under a blanket one night. The 62-year-old also suffered from constant stomach pains and diarrhea from being forced to drink contaminated water, having to beg for permission to use the toilet.
Degradation, Starvation, and Loss
Keith Siegel, who was held for a total of six months, sometimes with others, sometimes in complete solitary confinement, recounted his own severe abuse.
Keith described extreme degradation: "Just for 'fun,' the guards used to compare my body parts with those of another captive, threatened us with knives, humiliated us, prevented us from going to the bathroom until we couldn't hold it anymore." He detailed being stripped of basic human rights, starved, and denied drinking water. More than once, terrorists forced him to strip naked in front of them and shaved his body.
Aviva shared the painful reality of their deprivation, noting that while they lost significant weight (she lost 10 kg in 51 days), the terrorists gained weight: "We lost weight while the terrorists gained weight. They ate and chewed in front of us, while they gave us nothing to eat." Aviva confessed to secretly hiding food for Keith, witnessing his deteriorating condition.
The trauma was compounded by separation and loss. Keith told the committee of the pain of returning home, only to learn that his elderly mother, whom he dreamt of visiting, had died two months before his release and never knew he survived.
Justice Ministry Director-General Itamar Donenfeld emphasized to UNCAT that the testimonies are a "moral and legal indictment against the world's silence." He called on the committee to adhere to the facts and prevent the spread of anti-Semitic propaganda, demanding that the Convention Against Torture be a "moral compass that mandates action."