October 7 Survivor Confronts UN Rights Official in Geneva

Ilana Gritzewsky, a survivor of Hamas captivity, appeared at the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to spotlight the violence inflicted on October 7 victims and hostages in Gaza. She said this was her first media appearance since the release of her partner, Matan Zangauker, and said, "I have to speak for those who no longer have a voice, so they understand what our soldiers are fighting for day and night." She was accompanied by Mirav Lapidot and brought to the UN by UN Watch, the Geneva group that monitors UN decisions.

UN Watch said the UN has shown persistent bias, citing 112 condemnations of Israel between 2006 and 2025, almost half of all condemnations issued against the rest of the world combined. Israel’s ambassador to UN institutions in Geneva, Daniel Meron, said a coordinated BDS effort is trying to turn victims into perpetrators, and accused special rapporteur Reem Alsalem of spreading lies and refusing to acknowledge what Israeli women endured. He noted that Alsalem’s report mentioned "Palestinian suffering" 11 times, while saying nothing about the October 7 atrocities or the hardships faced by Israelis.

UN Watch chief executive Hillel Neuer called the situation absurd, saying that the UN envoy on violence against women had produced a document that erased Hamas victims. He said that while Alsalem accuses Israel, Gritzewsky was there to testify that Israeli women were attacked and abducted.

During the hearing, Gritzewsky addressed Alsalem directly and gave a painful personal account from the day of the massacre and her time in captivity. She said militants broke into her kibbutz, touched and abused her, and that she woke up half-naked with seven gunmen looming over her. "I came back with a broken hip, a broken jaw and a wounded soul," she said. She accused the rapporteur of silence and denial, asking, "I am another Israeli woman who begged not to be harmed, why did you stay silent? Please look at me." After her speech, Alsalem responded only partially, saying she refers to a public statement on her website about violence against Israeli women and girls on October 7. She added that for three years she has asked to speak with October 7 survivors and to visit Israel and Gaza, but said the Israeli government rejected her requests. Alsalem said she was willing to meet the speaker and then quickly left the chamber.