The findings of "A Quest for Justice, October 7 and Beyond," a detailed investigation conducted by The Dinah Project, were unveiled this morning at the President's residence. The report documents acts of sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, including against both female and male hostages.
At the presentation, Ilana Gritzewsky, a survivor of captivity during the Hamas-led assault, delivered a harrowing testimony. "War crimes. I never thought I would be forced to speak about any crimes, certainly not war crimes committed against me, against so many women, children, and men," she began.
Gritzewsky recounted the attack on Kibbutz Nir Oz: "On Saturday, October 7th, I was at my home in Kibbutz Nir Oz with my partner, Matan. Suddenly—noise. Explosions. Screams. Then a door burst open. They kidnapped us."
She described the abuse she endured: "I remember weapons pointed at me. I remember hands that weren't mine touching me. I remember screaming—then darkness. When I woke up, I was half-naked, surrounded by terrorists. They beat me. They touched me."
"In captivity, I went through hell. Hunger, thirst, loneliness. Physical and psychological torture. My body ached. My bones were broken. But the humiliation, the fear, the feeling of being someone else's property—that is the pain that never leaves."
Gritzewsky was released after 55 days. "But I'm not truly free, because true freedom exists only when no one else has to go through what I experienced. Only when people believe us. When they don't stay silent," she said.
She addressed those who still question the extent of the atrocities: "People still ask if it really happened. If they really raped, burned, murdered, kidnapped. If they really hurt women. If men were really harmed, too. So I tell you—yes. It happened. And it's still happening."
Referencing the remaining captives, she said, "There are still hostages. There are men among them. There is a woman among them. And there is my Matan. I don't know what they're doing to him there, but I know what they did to me."
"I'm here today for every woman who still can't speak. For the men who were harmed and are choking in silence. For those who were murdered, whose voices will never be heard. And for my Matan, and 49 other hostages still held in Gaza by the same people who hurt me."
Gritzewsky concluded with a plea to Israel's leadership: "Therefore, I turn from here, alongside the President's wife, to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet: Don't miss the opportunity to bring back the hostages. They are citizens of the State of Israel, and we are obligated to bring them all back.
"The living—for rehabilitation. The deceased for a proper burial. The hostages—for life. Sign the deal. End the war. Bring back the last one."