Amit Soussana | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Soussana in April 2025 | |
| Born | (1983-09-09)9 September 1983 (age 42) |
Amit Soussana (born September 9, 1983) is anIsraeli lawyer and released hostage. She was abducted during theOctober 7 attacks in theKfar Aza Massacre. She was the first Israeli hostage to come forward about being sexually assaulted in captivity.[1]
Amit Soussana was born on September 9, 1983.[2] She was raised in Sderot and had two older sisters, Shira and Liat.[1][3] She obtained an LLB fromSapir College.[4] She has been a licensed member of theIsraeli Bar Association since 2014.[5] She was employed by Luzzatto & Luzzatto, Attorneys and Patent Attorneys from 2015 to 2024.[5] She lived by herself in a one-story house in KibbutzKfar Aza.[1]
On October 7, 2023, Soussana was abducted from her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza.[1] Footage of her abduction showed her trying to resist against a group of her abductors.[6] She was injured during her abduction, and upon her release was found to have several facial fractures along with bruising on her knee and back.[1] During her captivity, she was held in around six locations, including homes, offices, and a tunnel 40 meters below the ground.[7][1] She was originally held alone in a home near the Gaza border, where she was kept chained by the ankle.[1] Around the start of theIsraeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, Soussana was moved a different home inNuseirat, where she was held with four other hostages.[1] In that location, she was bound and beaten during an interrogation by her captors, until fellow hostageLiri Albag convinced their captors that Soussanna was not in theIDF.[8] In mid-November, Soussana and six other hostages were moved to a tunnel.[1] Later, the three hostages were moved to another home.[1] She was freed on November 30, 2023, during theprisoner exchange between Hamas and Israel, after spending 55 days in captivity.[1]
In an interview withThe New York Times, Soussana described being forced to commit a sexual act on her captor while being held at gunpoint.[1] Early on in her captivity, Soussana was held in a child's bedroom, and occasionally the guard would "the guard would enter, sit beside her on the bed, lift her shirt and touch her."[1] Around October 24, 2023, Soussana was sexually assaulted by a guard using the alias of 'Muhammad'. During the interview, Soussana said that 'Muhammad' pointed his gun at her, groped her, and eventually forced Soussana "to commit a sexual act on him".[1]
The day after her release, Soussana recounted her sexual assault to a doctor from Israel'sNational Center of Forensic Medicine.[1]
In January 2024, Soussana met withPramila Patten, theUnited Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict.[7] In a March 2024 interview with the New York Times, Soussana became the first released Israeli hostage speak publicly about beingsexually assaulted in captivity.[1] Since then, Soussana has testified about her sexual assault in many public instances. She was interviewed in the documentaryScreams Before Silence bySheryl Sandberg.[9] On June 17, 2024, Soussana met with U.S. vice presidentKamala Harris at theWhite House at a screening ofScreams Before Silence.[10] On October 23, 2024, Soussana testified about her sexual assault in front of theUnited Nations Security Council.[7] Soussana was a member of the advisory board forThe Dinah Project.[11] In March 2025, Soussana was presented with theInternational Women of Courage Award by theUnited States Department of State due to her advocacy.[12]