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Former hostage Ilana Grichowsky, 31, the partner of Matan Tsangauker, who remains captive in Gaza, revealed in an interview published Tuesday in The New York Times that she was sexually assaulted during her abduction to Gaza and suffered further abuse at the hands of one of her Hamas captors.
Grichowsky recounted that on October 7, she lost consciousness before being taken across the border to Gaza on a motorcycle with the terrorists. When she woke up, she found herself lying on the floor of a building, half-naked, surrounded by seven Hamas terrorists. According to her account, her shirt was pulled up above her chest, and her pants were lowered.
Grichowsky said she did not know what happened while she was unconscious but recalled telling the militants that she was on her menstrual cycle, which she believes may have saved her from something worse. "They hit me and lifted me up," she said. "I don’t think I have ever been so thankful for my period."
For more than 50 days, Grichowsky was moved from place to place, mainly above ground. Initially, she was held alone with her captors, but later she was grouped with other hostages. She described being held in private homes, hospitals, and eventually in a tunnel before her release in a prisoner exchange deal in November 2023.
Grichowsky said that during her captivity, she was interrogated about her military service. One of the terrorists, she recalled, hugged her while pointing a gun at her and told her that even if a deal was reached, he would not let her go because he wanted to marry her and have children with her. Another claimed to be a math teacher, while a third said he was a lawyer. The terrorists also stole her earrings and bracelet.
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Grichowsky and Tsangauker lived in Nir Oz. She immigrated to Israel from Mexico as a teenager and began working at a medical cannabis farm, where she met Tsangauker. "We loved the quiet of the kibbutz, with a cup of coffee and a cigarette. We prefer anonymity," she said.
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Video of Matan Tsangauker published by Hamas in December
When Hamas terrorists raided the kibbutz — where one in four residents was either killed or abducted — they went house to house until they reached the couple's home. As the terrorists fired at their door, the two jumped out of the safe room window and ran in different directions. Grichowsky lost sight of Tsangauker and was eventually captured. She was beaten and taken to Gaza on a motorcycle.
On the motorcycle, Grichowsky sat between two terrorists, her head covered with a large plastic sheet. She said they pressed her leg against the exhaust pipe, causing a burn, and one of the terrorists groped her, touching her chest under her shirt and her legs. She fainted during the ride.
Grichowsky described life without Tsangauker as an ongoing struggle. “I’m not really available for my own rehabilitation, not for the body and not least for the soul,” she said.
“I live with the question of why me and not them. I have no answer,” she said, adding, “But if I am out, it’s a sign that God wanted me to raise my voice to help those who are alive gain their freedom and bring back the dead for a proper burial.”