“We were brutally kidnapped from our house. Our girls saw things
that kids that age, or any age, should not see. You feel like you want
to pinch yourself and wake up from this movie. We just slept, cried.
Every day that passed was an endless eternity.”
– Danielle Aloni
Executive Summary
On October 7, 2023, Hamas and its related militias invaded southern Israel and forcibly abducted 247 men, women, and children. Prior to that attack, 4 hostages were already being held in Gaza. Over 2 years later, all of the hostages have come home, and a reckoning is now due.
This report is based on the testimony of released hostages and the health care professionals who treat them. It analyzes the clear and absolute prohibition on torture under international law, and integrates the findings of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, whose 2025 report identified a clear pattern of physical and psychological abuse suffered by hostages during captivity, as well as post-traumatic harm after their release.
We reveal here that 88 percent of the hostages were civilians. Among them, 23 hostages were aged 12 or younger at the time of their abduction, and 34 were aged 60 or older. Fifty percent of the hostages were non-Israeli or held dual or multiple citizenships, including citizens of at least 24 different countries.
The hostages were held in harsh, degrading, and inhumane conditions and were denied medical care, food, access to personal hygiene, and natural light. Threats of execution, prolonged isolation, sexual assault, and abuse were routine experiences in captivity. 68% of the hostages held for over 200 days were forced to participate in propaganda videos. So far, 12 released hostages have described being sexually assaulted in captivity, including women and men. 33 hostages were executed by their captors.
At least 78 released hostages showed signs of starvation, acute malnutrition, and severe muscle wasting, having received as little as a single piece of bread each day, even as their captors ate full meals. Most hostages faced inadequate hygiene, physical violence, and extended periods of immobility during captivity. Psychological assessments further reveal acute dissociation, emotional numbing, and severe mental withdrawal.
“For 491 days, I was kept mostly underground in Hamas terror tunnels, chained, starved, beaten, and humiliated.” – Eli Sharabi
This report calls upon United Nations mechanisms, State Parties to the Convention Against Torture, and international accountability bodies to address the October 7 attacks and the hostage-taking as conduct that constitutes torture, and recognize former hostages and their families as victims of torture. Torture is absolutely prohibited under international law. It cannot be justified or contextualized. Hostage-taking is not merely arbitrary detention. It is the deliberate weaponization of human suffering to bend political will.
The Jerusalem Institute of Justice urges States and international bodies to reject any framing of the hostage-taking of Israelis as a legitimate military tactic or political bargaining tool. Finally, we call for the perpetrators and co-conspirators to be held accountable through criminal trials, civil litigation, and the application of universal jurisdiction.