Human Rights Voices

While the UN devotes its human rights operations to the demonization of the democratic state of Israel above all others and condemns the United States more often than the vast majority of non-democracies around the world, the voices of real victims around the world must be heard.

Palestinian Authority/Gaza, January 30, 2026

Freed captive Sasha Troufanov reveals sexual harassment during Gaza captivity

Original source

The Times of Israel

Attachment

Click here to view this article (and original URL) in MS Word/PDF format

Freed Israeli hostage Sasha Troufanov revealed Thursday that he was sexually harassed while being held captive in Gaza by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

In an interview with the BBC, Troufanov — who was released in February 2025 after almost 500 days in captivity — said that during a six-week period that he was held above ground, a guard tried to encourage him to perform a sexual act on himself.

Troufanov also told the British TV network that during his weekly allowed shower, he noticed a hidden camera.

“I noticed it and I took the shower trying to avoid my private parts toward this angle, but I had to do it because I needed to shower,” he said.

Then he was taken underground into the tunnel network, where it was dark and damp, and he was largely alone for many months.

“I remember feeling that I was buried underneath the ground while I was still alive. I was losing it. I was having a hard time finding hope in this place,” he said. “Many times I lost hope completely. I said to myself: ‘This is the last place you will see alive.’”

Troufanov’s testimony followed that of fellow male former hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Rom Braslavski, who disclosed sexual abuse during captivity. Several released female hostages have also recounted sexual violence and threats while held in Gaza.

‘The moment you’re going to die’

In the BBC interview, Troufanov recalled being kidnapped on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he and his fiancée Sapir Cohen were visiting his family, after having recently moved in together in Ramat Gan. Troufanov said that after breaking into their home, terrorists punched him and stabbed his shoulder, and that despite having wrapped herself in a blanket and hiding under the bed found Cohen, who was also taken captive and freed after 50 days.

Troufanov’s mother, Yelena, and grandmother, Irena Tati, were also kidnapped. His father Vitaly was murdered during the onslaught.

“I saw the terrorist with so much anger and hate in his face, holding his knife, trying to stab me even more,” Troufanov said.

He added that he was later shot twice in each leg after momentarily escaping his captors as they took him from Nir Oz, even though he had given up running.

“I just felt the rush of pain going through my brain and I fell to the ground, then one of the terrorists hit me with the rifle from the back of my head and split it open,” he said.

After being abducted to Gaza, Troufanov was beaten by Palestinian civilians, telling the BBC that he thought “this is the moment you’re going to die.”

Despite his wounds, Troufanov said he received barely any medical treatment in Gaza, describing how he was once brought to a hospital where they used a wooden broom and part of a metal grill to wrap one of his legs, which was shattered when he was shot.

Troufanov was held in isolation for nearly all of his captivity, though briefly was held with Braslavski, who was also taken hostage by Islamic Jihad.

‘Waited so long’ for last hostage’s return

With the return of the final hostage body this week, Troufanov said that rebuilding Gaza is “understandable,” but the people there must be stopped from attacking Israel again: “The terrorists were telling me: ‘We will do this again and again.’”

“Rebuilding Gaza and opening the Rafah crossing is in vain as it will never solve the real problem. We need to find a way to make this hatred and encouragement of terrorist activity stop,” he argued.

Troufanov was in London on Monday when news broke of Israel’s recovery of the remains of Ran Gvili, the last hostage whose body was still in Gaza.

“It felt wonderful. We waited so long for this to happen,” Troufanov said.

“I was carrying this burden ever since I came back. It was like a weight on my shoulders that kept me from coming back to my life. Although we were released, we didn’t really come out of Gaza because our friends and brothers were still there,” he added.

Troufanov is currently on crutches after surgery to repair his shattered leg.

But he is hoping to heal enough to be able to dance at his wedding next month to Cohen. “It’s a victory: overcoming hate and fear and saying to ourselves: ‘We will build a life together and we will continue.'”

Human Rights Voices

Palestinian Authority/Gaza, January 30, 2026

Freed captive Sasha Troufanov reveals sexual harassment during Gaza captivity

Browse Archive