JERUSALEM (JTA) — A 16-year-old Israeli girl told police that she was gang-raped by about 30 men at a hotel in Eilat.
Police opened an investigation after the teen filed a report on Friday; the investigation was announced on Wednesday. Two men have since been arrested, according to Israeli news reports.
A senior official involved in the investigation told Israel’s Channel 12 on Thursday that some of the men involved in the alleged incident made recordings of the activity in the hotel room on their cellphones. Police reportedly also have taken possession of security camera footage from the hotel.
According to another report by Channel 12, citing one of the arrested suspects, the men lined up in front of the hotel room of the teen, who was very drunk, and she called them in one at a time. A friend of the teen’s said the victim was “in distress” but was unable to get help from anyone.
“This is shocking, there are no other words to describe it,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted. “This is not just a crime against this girl, it is a crime against humanity deserving of every condemnation and those responsible for it should be brought to justice.”
Defense Minister Benny Gantz tweeted: “Since yesterday I want to understand, and fail to – what is a man trying to prove when he stands in a crowded line with dozens of men on the way to a room in which a young and disoriented girl is laying?”
