I fear that my cousin is pregnant, says relative of Hamas hostage
A COUSIN of an Israeli hostage has told MPS of her fears that she may become pregnant while being held by Hamas.
Agam Berger, 19, is one of 136 hostages still being held in Gaza – 117 days since terrorists took them captive.
There have been widespread allegations of sexual violence levelled at members of Hamas who participated in the Oct 7 attacks.
Yesterday, Ashley Waxman Bakshi, Ms Berger’s cousin, spoke of her concern at seeing a proof of life video released by Hamas last week, in which one of Ms Berger’s friends had a swollen face, which can be a sign of pregnancy.
Speaking through tears for 13 minutes, Ms Bakshi said: “Some released hostages have already given partial testimony about sexual violence, continuing to occur in captivity. We have heard about girls being touched when going to the washroom and raped at gunpoint. Many of these girls ask them not to tell their parents.” Ms Bakshi told of how Ms Berger was a talented violinist who had dreamed of travelling the world. Her family last spoke to her on Oct 7, when she told them she was under fire.
Ms Berger was later confirmed as a hostage when she was seen in a Hamas Telegram video being led to a car, still wearing her pyjamas.
“You can clearly understand our worry with every minute that passes when our women and girls are in the hands of these monsters,” Ms Bakshi said. “What if they are pregnant? What if they are being used as sex slaves?
“We have already seen rumours on Palestinian social media that time is being sold to civilians – to spend time with them.”
Ms Bakshi went on to describe how a video of two of Ms Berger’s friends – who are also being held hostage – had only added to the family’s concerns about pregnancy.
She said: “Last week Hamas released another one of its evil videos with clearly scripted texts where we can see two of Agam’s friends, Danielle and Karina, who are 19 as well.
“Alongside the joy of seeing the sign of life, we couldn’t help but notice that one of them seemed a bit swollen in the face. And the first unimaginable thoughts that were in our mind were about pregnancy.”
Ms Bakshi was speaking at an event hosted by the All Party Uk-israel Parliamentary Group, which heard testimony of sexual violence committed by Hamas terrorists.
Kemi Badenoch, the business secretary who attended the event in her role as minister for women, called out organisations including UN Women for failing to “acknowledge the horror of the sexual violence” against Israelis for “two months”.
Addressing the event earlier, Mrs Badenoch said: “Since October we have heard eyewitness testimonies from survivors of these attacks and survivors of the Nova music festival massacre describing the extreme levels of brutality, gang rape and sexual violence.
“Despite the fact that some international organisations including women’s organisations like UN Women, waited two months to acknowledge the horror of the sexual violence, Israeli women have been speaking out since then.”