Ex-captive Avinatan Or details unsuccessful escape attempt, wrote ‘hostage’ on sandbag

Former hostage Avinatan Or dug from a Hamas tunnel to the surface of Gaza but was caught, he details in a speech at an American Jewish conference.

Or, who was released last month as part of the ceasefire deal, was held alone during his captivity, and tells the audience at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly, taking place in Washington, DC, that he sometimes didn’t see another human being for days.

He describes his escape attempt, which was first revealed shortly after his release.

“I tried to escape,” he says in remarks to the conference last night. “I dug for weeks through sandbags, through a collapsed tunnel towards the surface. I made myself work to change my own destiny.”

He continues, “One day, as I was digging, I hit the root of a tree. I smelled it. It felt like touching life in the place of death. Then, one night, I reached the outside. I saw stars for the first time in years. I wrote ‘hostage’ on a white sandbag, planning my next step, but they found out. They beat me for days, they tied me to a chair for a week.”

He adds, “I was sure I will die there, but even then, I wrote three things next to my bed: ‘This too shall pass,’ ‘patience,’ and ‘let it be.’ These words kept me human.”

He calls the IDF soldiers fighting in Gaza heroes, and says he survived by remembering to be patient, refraining from anger and attempting to find common ground with his captors.