“As a woman, you have never completely gotten rid of the fear of being raped or being part of a series of acts, never,” said Yarden Romann in an interview with the US broadcaster CBS.
“It’s simply not an option because as long as you’re there, you’re hopeless. You have no protection, you can never object, it could cost you your life,” said Romann in an excerpt published in advance on Sunday on the X platform the show “60 Minutes.” The fear wasn’t always extreme, but it never went away, she said.
Romann was released by Hamas at the end of November as part of an agreement with the Israeli government. According to her family, she was visiting her in-laws in Kibbutz Beeri in the border area when she, her husband and their young daughter were dragged into a car by terrorists during the massacre there on October 7th. The three initially managed to escape en route to the Gaza Strip, but they were separated while fleeing. Her husband and daughter hid in the bushes and escaped.
Weeks after the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, new reports of brutal sexual violence against women and girls continue to emerge. Israeli police have launched an investigation into reports of mass sexual crimes against women that day.
An independent expert commission also collects eyewitness reports, forensic and other evidence. The reports also raise concerns about young women who are still in the control of the terrorist organization and whose release Hamas has so far refused to release.
