Original source (on modern site) | Article images: [1]
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. Amit Soussana, an Israeli lawyer, was abducted from her home on Oct. 7, beaten and dragged into Gaza by at least 10 men, some armed. Several days into her captivity, she said, her guard began asking about her sex life. Ms. Soussana said she was held alone in a child's bedroom, chained by her left ankle. Sometimes, the guard would enter, sit beside her on the bed, lift her shirt and touch her, she said. He also repeatedly asked when her period was due. When her period ended, around Oct. 18, she tried to put him off by pretending that she was bleeding for nearly a week, she recalled. Around Oct. 24, the guard, who called himself Muhammad, attacked her, she said. Early that morning, she said, Muhammad unlocked her chain and left her in the bathroom. After she undressed and began washing herself in the bathtub, Muhammad returned and stood in the doorway, holding a pistol. "He came towards me and shoved the gun at my forehead," Ms. Soussana recalled during eight hours of interviews with The New York Times in mid-March. After hitting Ms. Soussana and forcing her to remove her towel, Muhammad groped her, sat her on the edge of the bathtub and hit her again, she said. He dragged her at gunpoint back to the child's bedroom, a room covered in images of the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants, she recalled. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
![[1]](image.php?loc=IN&i=https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/03/26/multimedia/26hostage-01-jzfc/26hostage-01-jzfc-facebookJumbo.jpg){kind=link}