I Believe Israeli Women Mission Update: Screaming their Screams
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May 24, 2024
A harrowing video of five young women is on the minds of everyone in Israel.
In the disturbing three minutes of footage, captured from GoPro cameras of terrorists who infiltrated the Nahal Oz military base on Oct. 7, you see several bound and bloodied young women in their pajamas.
“You dogs, we will step on you,” one terrorist shouts.
The women’s faces are bloody and swollen. They plead with their captors. One woman can be seen with blood on the back of her pants, a possible indication of sexual assault.
The women in the video are Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniela Gilboa, and Naama Levy, IDF observers who have been in Hamas captivity for over 230 days. The footage was released by their families in an urgent appeal to the world’s humanity to demand their release and reach a hostage deal immediately.
“All I want to do is yell to the world that this is still happening!” Liri’s sister Shay wrote on Instagram. “You are still there, in a continuous terror attack. Still with fear in your eyes, knowing it’s dangerous to even smile. Those who hold you are monsters who took away the freedom you deserve!”
“I’m sorry that another day has passed and we didn’t bring you home. Sorry that we had to share images of your terrified face in the most awful place, instead of a happy video of you coming home.”
We cannot look away from these horrors. Every survivor we met in Israel, every first responder and medical worker, has told us that what they need most from us is to scream their screams.
We Believe Israeli Women. We will not let the world forget what has happened — and is happening — to them. And we will never rest until each and every hostage is home.
Note: The video is disturbing and not appropriate for young viewers.
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Life after captivity
Maya Regev, 22, describes her life after Hamas captivity
Maya Regev and the I Believe Israeli Women Delegation at Sheba Medical Center (Photo by Yael Ilan)
Sitting in a wheelchair in Sheba Medical Center, Maya Regev radiates strength. With several pins in and braces surrounding her left leg, the 22 year-old described to us what life has been since her release from Hamas captivity.
On Oct. 7, she was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival along with her brother, Itay, and friend, Omer Shem Tov. Though they were separated, Maya and Itay were released during the temporary ceasefire and hostage release in November. Omer is still held captive by terrorists.
Since returning home, Maya has been in intensive recovery, as a result of her injuries and a botched operation on her foot. But she’s also been traveling the world, speaking out about what she and other men and women experienced in captivity.
In April, she told a Knesset committee that every women held hostage by Hamas “goes through sexual harassment in some form or another.”
“On October 7, I didn’t understand why they didn’t come to save me and all the other women who were there,” she added.“I was released after 50 days and I’m dealing with the impact; I don’t want to describe what they’re going through there.”
Maya’s ask of us? Speak out for the women who were killed, raped, or taken hostage by Hamas. Tell their stories, and ensure the world cannot look away.
• Read Maya Regev’s op-ed, “'I always knew I was strong, and captivity just proved to me how much'” in Ynet
• Read: “Released hostage Maya Regev: Every female captive in Gaza has experienced some form of sexual harassment” in The Times of Israel
• Watch: Maya and Itay Regev describe how they were brutally shot and kidnapped by Hamas terrorists
‘This is sacred ground’
I Believe Israeli Women delegates listen to a first responder at the Shura Military Base
Judaism has utmost respect for the dead. But hearing how this plays out during war is another thing entirely.
This week, we received a briefing from volunteers and soldiers at the Shura base. The bodies of soldiers and civilians are generally handled separately, but on October 7, the system was overwhelmed, and all of those killed on Oct. 7 were sent here. The staff and volunteers go above and beyond for the families of the deceased and to preserve the dignity of the dead.
Bodies are thoroughly examined by medical experts before burial, and volunteers told us that a pattern — bodies showing indications of sexual violence — began to emerge shortly after Oct. 7. It is the testimony of these volunteers and first responders that constituted the first indications that sexual violence had taken place.
Watch: “October 7 attacks: Shari Mendes tells Yalda Hakim about the sexual violence she witnessed” in Sky News
Read: “After October 7, Women’s Month is painful, says Israel Lemonade Fund CEO” in The Jerusalem Post
Supporting women always
Israel's nine rape crisis centers work around the clock to support women in crisis
A staff member at the Tel Aviv Rape Crisis Center embraces an IBIW delegate (Photo by Yael Ilan)
October 7 and its aftermath has changed the needs of Israeli women’s organizations in profound ways. Many survivors of sexual violence were retraumatized, and Israel’s nine rape crisis centers have been overwhelmed.
We will not let them face this alone. On Wednesday, we presented rape crisis center staff with a list of names of the first members of the I Believe Israeli Women movement, on a poster saying, “We Believe Israeli Women.”
We will continue to meet with them and support each other in our work to end violence against women and girls.
Israeli women need your help
Around 100 hostages are languishing in Gaza, and countless survivors of sexual violence in Israel face a world that denies what they have been through. We cannot ignore the cries of the Hostage Families, imploring us to speak out. Join us in sharing their stories and supporting them.
I Believe Israeli Women is building a global movement to stand with Israeli men, women and children in this critical moment.
We’ll continue to meet with experts and survivors, working to ensure the world never forgets the truth of what happened on Oct. 7 — and what is happening to the hostages — and share concrete steps we must take to support Israelis and fight disinformation.