Yazidi girl kidnapped by IS and sold to a Hamas militant in Gaza at the age of 11, saved by IDF after 10 years

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has rescued a Yazidi woman who was kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) terrorists and sold as a sex slave during its ongoing operation in Gaza. According to the IDF, the woman, Fawzia Amin Sido, who is now 21 years old, was kidnapped from Iraq by IS in 2014 when she was just 11 years old. She was reportedly sold to a Hamas operative in the Gaza Strip, who held her captive for a decade until last week when she was freed.

CREDIT: X/ JINU TV

Rescued in joint Israel, US Jordan operation

According to the IDF, Fawzia was rescued in a coordinated and complex operation this week that involved cooperation with the United States, Jordan, and other international partners. "She was recently rescued in a secret mission from the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing," the IDF said.

Reunited with family

The woman has since been reunited with her family in Iraq. "Upon her entry into Israel, she continued to Jordan through the Allenby Bridge crossing, and from there returned to her family in Iraq," the IDF said.

Fawzia, a Yazidi girl kidnapped by ISIS from Iraq and brought to Gaza at just 11 years old, has finally been rescued by the Israeli security forces.

For years, she was held captive by a Palestinian Hamas-ISIS member.

She has now been reunited with her family. Her story is a¡­ pic.twitter.com/nkVotqYdov

¡ª David Saranga (@DavidSaranga) October 3, 2024

How was she smuggled to Gaza

According to Brigadier General Elad Goren of COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, she could have been brought from Iraq to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt and sold to a Hamas operative. He also said the woman was physically healthy "but not in a good mental situation."

CREDIT: X/ JINU TV

"She wasn't hurt physically but we understand that the experience she had was terrible," he said. The Iraqi foreign ministry confirmed the woman's return, praising the cooperation between the United States and Jordan following more than four months of "efforts and follow-ups".

IS attacks on Yazidis

In 2014, during the peak of the Islamic State's terror regime, the Yazidis, who are a Kurdish religious minority in Iraq, Turkey, and Syria, were among the worst affected. IS, who viewed the Yazidis as infidels, forced them to convert to Islam. Men who refused to convert were killed, while Yazidi women and girls were taken as sex slaves and were even given as 'gifts' to IS figures.

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