Freed hostage recounts being kidnapped on Oct. 7, rescue op in speech to Israeli American Council

Freed hostage Andrey Kozlov addresses the conference of the Israeli American Council in Washington, recalling his rescue from Hamas captivity during a counter-terror operation.

“I’m so happy to be here, really,” he says, speaking in English. “I’m here tonight free and speaking with you for one reason: I was rescued by IDF soldiers and elite counter-terrorism operatives.

“One of those brave men was named Arnon Zmora,” Kozlov continues, referring to the Israeli commando killed during the operation, who he asks the crowd to rise for to honor with a moment of silence.

Kozlov recalls coming to Israel from Russia in 2022 weeks before he was mobilized to the military, before moving to his kidnapping by Hamas on October 7 — “the day my life and the world totally changed.”

“I was in the country for a little bit more than one year. I came from one war to another,” he said. “Because I’m here now, you know every step I took was somehow the right one to survive.”

“Every day in Gaza was terrible,” Kozlov went on, recalling the fear of being held in Gaza amid Israel’s bombing campaign against Hamas.

Kozlov says he was “one of the very, very few lucky hostages who were rescued,” adding that it was only after he left Gaza on a helicopter that he felt “finally free.”

He ends his speech by saying “I’m still that regular guy I was before,” but notes that he now has influence.

“We have to remember that 101 hostages are still in Gaza… When will they come back? Will they even come back? Will they die today or not?… I am appealing to all leaders: Please, please bring all them all home, we must find a way to bring them all home free before their time runs out.”