Israeli soldier’s testimony exposes regime’s propaganda behind October 7 rape claims

Naama Levy, the Israeli soldier whose capture image was widely used to drive global rallies and fuel Tel Aviv’s October 7 rape accusations against Hamas, has recently delivered a testimony that made no mention of sexual violence—further exposing Israel’s claims as unsubstantiated propaganda.

Speaking at a United Nations-organized event in New York City on Friday, Levy gave a detailed recount of her captivity in the Gaza Strip eight months after her release.

Levy, who was taken captive by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in Israel’s Nahal Oz military base along with several other female surveillance soldiers of the Israeli military, explained that the blood seen in the widely circulated footage came from combat injuries, not assault.

According to Levy, the Tel Aviv regime’s total blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip had not only plagued the Palestinians in Gaza but also Israeli captives held in the territory.

“I suffered severe malnutrition, indescribable hunger, and many untreated injuries. I was kept in unbearable sanitary conditions, with the constant fear that each moment could be my last.”

Her statements about hunger and lack of personal hygiene items align with numerous Hamas statements stressing that Israeli soldiers held in Gaza face the same conditions as Gaza’s residents under the Israeli siege, which continues to kill dozens from hunger and diseases every day.

Rebuking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s derailment of peace talks with Hamas-led groups in Gaza and the unraveling of a prisoner exchange deal, Levy called for concerted efforts to press the Tel Aviv regime to resume negotiations.

“The hardest times, mentally, during my captivity were the periods when there was no news at all about negotiations,” the former Israeli soldier captive said.

Israelis slam Netanyahu over ‘abandoning’ captives as talks with Hamas stall

Israeli families have lashed out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for “abandoning” captives held in Gaza and failing to secure a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

Israel launched a genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after Hamas-led groups carried out Operation al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

In the historic operation, Hamas took 251 Israelis captive, 58 of whom now remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the occupation’s army and 20 believed to be alive. 

The families of captives have repeatedly stated that Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza endangers their lives in captivity, calling for an end to the regime’s aggression and a “comprehensive deal” that would secure their immediate release.

In January, a temporary ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas led to the release of several captives and Palestinian abductees held illegally in Israeli jails. 

However, the Israeli regime refused to extend the deal as initially planned, choosing instead to intensify its military assaults on Gaza by shattering the 2-month deal.

Dozens of the captives have already been killed in Israel’s indiscriminate and relentless bombardment of the Palestinian territory, and now, the Israeli-imposed starvation is taking its toll on them, too.  

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured some 166,000 others.

Thousands of victims are also feared trapped under rubble, inaccessible to emergency and civil defense teams due to Israeli attacks.

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