Nationwide protest sparked by rape of 16-year-old by 30 men in Israel

Thousands gathered in support of a 16-year-old girl who was reportedly raped by multiple men. The unnamed victim was attacked at the Red Sea Hotel in Eilat, Israel. The victim reported the incident to the police on Friday, August 14. Since the report, two suspects have been arrested. While denying rape, one of the suspects revealed that at least 30 men lined up at the hotel to have sex with the girl. The hotel denies claims that the men lined up outside the girl's room during the attack. Police are investigating the incident and more suspects are likely to be arrested.

Last week, the underaged girl had gone to the resort town with a friend. They booked a room at the Red Sea Hotel where they met with some of the friend's acquaintances. The group went out to drink only to return after the girl was highly intoxicated.

The friend claims that a man offering to help the girl took advantage of the situation and raped her instead. This eventually led to more and more men turning up to rape the girl. While the friend claims that they tried to stop the attack, they were prevented by the men.

The day after the incident, one of the suspects reportedly messaged the victim offering to share videos of the rape with her. She got into an altercation with the man. The victim showed the messages to the police, leading to the arrest of the suspect. According to The Times of Israel, the suspect is believed to have deleted the video evidence.

Two 27-year-old suspects from northern Israel were arrested over the week. One of the suspects told the police that multiple men were involved in the incident. He refused the charge of rape but said that the men had sex with the girl.

The owner of the hotel where the incident took place cooperated with the police. Pnina Maman claims that there was no video evidence of men lining up at the hotel to rape the girl. She says that since the incident, she has received rape threats.

Protesters gathered at Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Givatayim, and Haifa as well as other parts of the country. They offered support for the girl and pushed for better handling of rape cases. In Israel, nine out of 10 rape cases are reportedly closed without a charge.