Whipping or branding with a red-hot iron. The hostages described how Hamas tortured them

“The evidence on which the UN report is based is a wake-up call for the world to put more pressure on Hamas and its supporters to release them all (the remaining hostages) immediately,” said Israeli Health Minister Uriel Buso.

The document, available to The Times of Israel, details how the captives were burned and beaten, starved and humiliated, and how the abuse affected their mental and physical health long after they were freed. In order to protect the identity of the hostages, no names, age and marital status, as well as gender in the case of minors, are mentioned in the report.

The report shows that the kidnappers, for example, forced two Israeli teenagers to undress and perform sexual acts on each other. Then they touched their private parts and even whipped them. The teenagers also stated that “they were handcuffed and beaten throughout their captivity. Signs of tying, scars and marks consistent with trauma were found,” the report states.

“Two young children had burns on their lower limbs,” the report said, continuing: “One child said the abductors ‘branded’ him with a red-hot metal object. The adults who were in captivity with him described the incident as purposeful, not an accident.’

Some hostages were kept for several days in the dark, with their hands and feet tied and given little food and water. They were beaten all over and some had their hair pulled out.

“One of the returning hostages stated that a Hamas terrorist sexually assaulted him with a gun in his hand,” the report reads. “On several occasions, the captors forced women of all ages to undress while others, including the captors, looked on. Some women reported that their captors sexually assaulted them. Some described how they were tied to beds.’

The conditions of detention were such that they destroyed the hostages, not only physically, but also psychologically. Captured families were divided and their members were deliberately kept in isolation. In one case, the woman was kept in complete isolation, in the dark, tied up, given very little water and food. No one treated her injuries.

“The hostages were denied medical care, not only because of the actual injuries they suffered on October 7, such as fractures, shrapnel injuries and burns. Everything was treated inadequately, which led to complications that required further operations, which could have been avoided with proper care.”

“The prisoners tortured the injured with painful procedures without anesthesia. Many of the hostages also suffered from untreated chronic conditions (eg heart failure, diabetes, hypothyroidism), which led to serious short-term health deterioration. In one case, the hostage died of untreated medical complications,” the report continues.

The men “suffered severe physical abuse, including constant starvation, beatings and burns with galvanized iron (brandishing), pulling their hair, being imprisoned in closed rooms with limited food and water, held in solitary confinement with their hands and feet tied, and denied access to a toilet, which forced the captives to defecate on themselves.” Some captives claim in the documentary that they “witnessed the killing of other captives, which further deepened their feeling of helplessness and hopelessness”.

Adult hostages lost an average of eight to 15 kilograms – 10 to 17 percent of their original body weight – while children lost an average of 10% of their body weight, although in one extreme case a girl lost up to 18% of her weight.

After returning home, some adults and children suffered from acute anxiety and panic attacks, as well as sudden mood swings. “Some of the released hostages had paranoid anxieties, they were afraid of retribution against their loved ones if they talked about their experiences. “Some feel survivor’s guilt and feel responsible for being rescued while their loved ones remain in Gaza,” the report said.

Israel has previously submitted reports and published hostage testimonies detailing sexual abuse in captivity, which Hamas denies. During the attack in southern Israel last year on October 7, 251 people were kidnapped and 1,200 people died in the attack. 96 people remained in Gaza, of which 34 are dead.

Hamas released 105 civilians during a week-long ceasefire in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight captives were rescued by soldiers and the bodies of 38 hostages were also recovered, including three accidentally killed by the Israeli army as they tried to escape their captors.