In message to public on war’s 500th day, freed hostage Iair Horn pleads for release of brother, remaining captives

Iair Horn gives his first public statement since being released Saturday, after 498 in Hamas captivity.

The Hostage Families Forum screens the video message at Hostages Square where some 2,000 have gathered to mark 500 days since October 7, 2023.

“My name is Iair Horn. I was released two days ago from Hamas captivity after 498 days. I was there. I was in Hamas’s tunnels. My body endured this captivity, and I’m telling you the hostages do not have any more time,” he says, in a video statement released as hostage families mark the 500th day that their loved ones have been held in Gaza.

“We’re out of time. We must return them now,” Horn says.

“Everyone is asking me, ‘What do you need?’ And I tell them, ‘I need only one thing: Bring back my brother,'” he says, breaking down in tears upon mentioning his brother Eitan, who remains in captivity and is not slated for release until the next phase.

“Bring back my brother and all of the hostages,” Horn says.

Actor Lior Ashkenazi, who emcees the Hostages Square rallies, says Iair had asked shortly before today’s rally to record the video. Ashkenazi says Iair asked him to thank the activists for the hostages’ release.