Content warning: This article discusses sensitive topics such as sexual assault.
Former Gaza hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal shared his experiences of sexual abuse during his time in Hamas captivity with First Lady Michal Herzog in a candid interview on Thursday.
The interview was held a day before the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.
Herzog mentioned her outrage over Israel being included in the UN’s blacklist of countries and organizations that use sexual violence in conflict.
UN fails to verify allegations
“What really outraged me,” she said, “was that the description of the situation in Israel began by noting that the Israeli hostages who returned from captivity in Gaza made allegations of sexual abuse they had experienced, and that the UN could not verify those allegations.”
“This is why we’re here,” she told Gilboa-Dalal. “So that you can say what you went through.”
Gilboa-Dalal recounted a moment in which one of his captors covered his eyes and told him to take his clothes off.
“He started touching my entire body. I froze. I couldn't do anything. He held a knife to my throat and said, 'Don't tell anyone about this," Gilboa-Dalal said.
The former hostage also spoke of a similar but separate incident.
“The second time he came into our room,” he recalled. “He told me to turn toward the wall. He covered my eyes and said, 'Now stay like this, don't move.'”
He said that the Hamas terrorists threw him and fellow hostage Omer Wenkert and started beating, punching, and kicking them.
“We were crying and begging him to stop,” he said.
"After he finished, he took me to the shower. He grabbed me by the hand, threw me onto the couch, stood behind me, and began rubbing his genitalia against me. In moments like that, my mind simply disconnected. Every second felt like a lifetime. I didn't know what to do. I just wanted it to be over. I couldn't do anything, even if I wanted to. I was so weak."
Gilboa-Dalal is one of the few male hostages to recount instances of sexual assault during captivity. Among others with similar experiences are released hostages Rom Braslavski and Keith Siegel.
Siegel and his wife Aviva testified before the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) in Geneva in late 2025. Siegel, at the time, had urged the committee to listen to the facts presented by the Israeli delegation and remain free from political bias.
When asked what prompted him to speak openly and reveal the severe abuse he endured, Gilboa-Dalal replied that he feels that he has a mission to use his voice to strengthen and empower survivors of sexual assault.
'I want them to know they are not alone'
“I know that many people who experience sexual assault choose not to speak about it with others, and I want them to know they are not alone. It is never the victim's fault."
"I want to use my voice to spread the truth about what happened in Gaza,” he told Herzog.
The first lady commended Gilboa-Dala for sharing his experiences. "These are difficult and harrowing experiences for a young person, especially in a place and situation where you feel completely helpless,” she said.
“It takes tremendous courage to share them, and I believe it is our duty to bring our painful and shocking truth before the world. I thank you for your willingness and courage to do so."