Captivity survivor Elizabeth Tsurkov told the New York Times that during her 903 days as a hostage in Iraq, she endured beatings, sexual harassment and prolonged torture, sometimes until she lost consciousness. The torture intensified significantly when her captors discovered her Israeli identity. She said: "I didn't see the sun. They used me as a punching bag, hung me from the ceiling and whipped me all over my body." Tsurkov recounted that during her kidnapping, several men forced her into the back seat, she called for help and tried to escape but the kidnappers beat her and sexually assaulted her.