Powerful Moment of Brave Hamas Hostage Reveals Terrorists Sexually Assaulted Her as She Confronts UCLA Student Who Organized Pro-Palestinian Protests and Refuses to Look at Her
There was a tense atmosphere at a debate in Southern California, where a former Hamas hostage came face to face with the leader of the UCLA encampment set up earlier this year to protest Israel’s war in Gaza .
In a powerful meeting, Moran Stella Yanai, who was snatched from the Nova Festival and held hostage for 54 days, answered questions and spoke directly to camp leader Aidan Doyle, who previously praised the Oct. 7 massacre.
The pair discussed the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the hostage crisis and the challenges of peace in the region.
Yanai, who is of Egyptian and Moroccan descent, opened the discussion with a personal invitation to Doyle, urging him to visit her hometown of Beersheba in southern Israel.
She emphasized the importance of dialogue, stating that while they may not share the same views, understanding the facts and hearing different perspectives are essential steps toward coexistence.
The room fell silent as Yanai spoke directly to Doyle, avoiding eye contact as much as possible and shifting in his chair as she recounted the traumatic details of her kidnapping by Hamas, and how she was captured multiple times.
“When I was taken to Gaza, I was kidnapped and arrested three times,” she said. “The last time I was caught by thirteen Hamas terrorists.”
Yanai had been at the festival after setting up a retail booth days before the rave and spending time putting together and designing jewelry.
Moran Stella Yanai, who was snatched from the Nova Festival and held hostage by Hamas for 54 days, answered questions and spoke directly to camp leader Aidan Doyle
The room fell silent as Yanai spoke directly to Aidan Doyle, avoiding eye contact
Yanai set up a retail booth a few days before the rave and spent the time putting together and designing jewelry
When the attack occurred, she frantically tried to escape through the desert where the festival was being held near Mount Negev, but broke her leg in the chaos.
She described the physical toll of her captivity, during which she also suffered severe bruising and sexual assault. She talked about the moments after her kidnapping.
“When I entered Gaza, I saw 100 percent of the civilians celebrating that I had been taken,” she said, explaining how she had a broken leg and bruises all over her body.
“I didn’t know anything about the other hostages, I thought I was the only one.”
The discovery of her kidnapping came as a shock to her family, when her 12-year-old niece stumbled upon the news through a viral TikTok video.
“That’s how my parents found out I was kidnapped,” Yanai revealed as she called on Doyle to reflect on his statements.
The video showed Yanai begging for her life as Hamas terrorists shouted in the background.
UCLA encampment leader Aidan Doyle has previously praised the Oct. 7 massacre. He closed his eyes several times as Moran told Stella Yanai about her kidnapping by Hamas
Despite Yanai’s attempts to put him at ease, Doyle seemed visibly uncomfortable during the meeting
A viral TikTok video showed Yanai pleading for her life after she was found in a tree by Hamas gunmen, before being taken to Gaza by the terrorists in a jeep.
Moran Stella Yanai month broke her silence in March after being held hostage by Hamas for 54 days following the October 7 attacks in Israel
Israeli woman Moran Stella Yanai, who was taken hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in photos from her Instagram page
She was then piled into a jeep and taken to Gaza, where she feared she would be “lynched.”
‘Do you know how many bodies I’ve seen? Do you know how much violence was used against me?” she asked Doyle.
During her capture, Yanai was moved between seven heavily guarded locations, where she was watched day and night, had very little food and water, and had to ask permission to use the bathroom.
Her words reflected the pain of the trauma she endured at the hands of Hamas and the brutal violence she faces.
She emphasized that the attack targeted innocent civilians who had simply gathered to dance at a music festival. Nearly 400 partygoers died at the festival.
‘They didn’t know we had 3,000 people there and told me they planned to move on and kill as many as possible slaughter everyone,” Yanai explained.
‘We went dancing. We went dancing. We didn’t attack.’
Yanai was later released last November along with eight others in a rare hostage situation by Hamas.
Pro-Palestinian activist Aidan Doyle (UCLA Student and Encampment Activist) in photos from his Instagram page
The pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles lasted nearly two weeks before being cleared after a nearly nine-hour standoff with police
The UCLA encampment will be demolished by police in May 2024
Her raw testimony was seen as a direct challenge to Doyle’s previous praise of the massacre, as Yanai focused on the human cost of the event.
Despite Yanai’s attempts to put him at ease, Doyle seemed visibly uncomfortable during the meeting.
‘I wish that we can have a private conversation, not with this whole audience, because it scares me to hear people have those thoughts and I really want to hear your side. I swear,’ she said.
Later in the debate, which was posted to YouTube, an audience member questioned Doyle about the alleged violent behavior within his movement.
Doyle responded, “The encampment was not anti-Semitic…Jewish students were allowed to attend class.”
The video has been viewed tens of thousands of times since it was posted online, but it didn’t seem to look favorably on Doyle.
“Unfortunately, this man did not deserve her respect. He actually mocked her on x. This man is a psychopath,” one viewer wrote.
“She’s a hostage who survived Gaza and this idiot can’t show an ounce of respect. How sick and twisted this world is,” another added.
“She talks so well and he can’t even look her in the eyes,” one user commented.
“She taught him a lesson and he probably still doesn’t realize it,” said a fourth.
Moran Stella Yanai spent 54 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza before being released last November
Moran Stela Yanai, 40, hugs her sister, Lea Yanai, after arriving in Israel at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, on November 30, 2023
Israeli Moran Stela Yanai along with Noa Argamani, both of whom were kidnapped along with others from the Nova music festival during Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7. They were photographed in South Africa earlier this month
He explained that the removals from the encampment were based on security concerns, not identity concerns, and were aimed at preventing violence by agitators.
When asked about solutions for peace, Doyle advocated a one-state solution with equal rights for all.
“There must be a one-state solution with equal rights and protection for all, and a relatively equal distribution of land for Jews, Muslims and Christians,” he said.
However, he acknowledged the difficulty in reaching such a solution and criticized the leadership of Hamas, the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government.
As of September 2024, there are still 101 hostages in Gaza.