Ex-hostage Avinatan Or: ‘Our unity is our strength. Only with love will we win’

Returning to his home following two years in Hamas captivity in Gaza, Avinatan Or tells a cheering crowd to remain committed to the unity they showed in fighting for his and the other hostages’ release.

“After a very long period in the tunnels in Gaza, in the dark, I am finally here with all of the people of Israel, surrounded with love,” Or says in front of a cluster of microphones, to a crowd of supporters. “We came home eight days ago, the rest of the hostages and I. From that moment, we’ve been flooded with love from all sides of the nation of Israel and from every possible source, whether it’s soldiers or doctors or the Israel Police or citizens, private people who came, supported, and showed love.”

Or, taken hostage from the Nova music festival during Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack, was held alone in Gaza during his two years of captivity, often in extremely harsh conditions. He was released from the hospital on Monday and greeted by well-wishers en route to his home in the West Bank settlement of Shiloh.

“I was cut off for two years,” he said. “I am slowly hearing stories about what happened, and all of the unity and love that was here in the nation. That really makes me happy. I want to thank the Israel Defense Forces, who are the real heroes here in this story. Because of them, we came home. Because of them, I am here today and can say thank you, and can see you, and receive all your love.”

He concluded, “I wish for us to know how to take this love and unity and carry it forward for years to come, without needing wars to do so. Our unity is our strength. Only with love will we win.”