Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Freed Hostage Rom Braslavski Details Sexual Abuse in First Televised Account

His testimony is the first public claim of sexual abuse by a male survivor of the Oct. 7 abductions.

Overview

  • In a newly aired Channel 13 Hazinor interview also provided to CNN, the 21-year-old describes being stripped, tied and subjected to sexual violence meant to degrade him.
  • He was seized from the Nova music festival in Re'im on Oct. 7, 2023 and held for more than two years by Islamic Jihad militants allied with Hamas.
  • Braslavski recounts daily beatings and severe deprivation, saying he told himself each day he had survived “another day in hell.”
  • Militants earlier released footage showing him emaciated and trembling, which his family said left him unrecognizable.
  • He was released in October 2025 under a ceasefire and prisoner-exchange arrangement, and his mother says captors offered him food if he converted to Islam.