In testimony published Tuesday in The New York Times, Ilana Gritzewsky, who was freed after 55 days in Hamas captivity, revealed new details about the moments of her abduction and the difficulty of recovering while her partner, Matan Zangauker, is still being held by Hamas.
Gritzewsky recounted that during the abduction, she was beaten by Hamas terrorists and abused as she was taken into Gaza. "Taken alone, she passed out along the way and awoke in the enclave surrounded by gunmen, half-naked, terrified and vulnerable," the report said.
"She was trapped between two gunmen on a motorcycle, her head and face covered with a large piece of nylon or tarpaulin," it continued. "She said that the men pressed her leg onto the exhaust pipe, burning it, and that one of the kidnappers sitting behind her groped her, touching her breast under her shirt, and her legs. She passed out before they crossed the border."
A home security camera belonging to a Nir Oz resident, Eyal Barad, captured the moment, showing her with a white fabric wrapped around her head on the motorcycle with the gunmen. Ms. Gritzewsky said
In the interview, she said she woke up in a dilapidated building in Gaza, with her shirt pulled up and her breasts exposed, her pants down, surrounded by seven armed men. She told The New York Times she doesn't know what happened while she was unconscious, but when she awoke, she signaled and told the armed terrorists she was menstruating, thinking it might protect her.
"They hit me and lifted me up," she said. "I felt they were disappointed. I don't think I have ever been so thankful for my period."
