‘I wasn't willing to sit back and let others decide my fate’ - Avinatan Or tried to escape Gaza captivity

Former Hamas hostage Avinatan Or, whose kidnapping by the terror group was captured on video, as he was separated from his then-girlfriend Noa Argamani, spoke with Israel’s Channel 12 News Uvda about his captivity. 

After being abducted from the Nova music festival, Avinatan was held underground, completely isolated from other hostages. 

Avinatan told Channel 12 his greatest fear was of being forgotten, of “becoming another Ron Arad,” referring to the Israel Air Force officer who was captured in Lebanon in 1986, after ejecting from his plane. 

Arad was held by the Amal Shia terror group before being transferred to Hezbollah. At some point after his transfer, Arad apparently died, although the circumstances of his death are unclear. 

The whereabouts of Arad’s remains are also unknown. Although Israeli commandos carried out a raid in Lebanon in March of this year, in an effort to locate his remains based on intelligence, the operation was not successful. 

During Avinatan’s captivity in Gaza, he devised an escape plan which took months to implement. Using a stolen pickaxe, an LED light, and some electrical wires, he dug a tunnel from his cramped cell, intending to escape confinement. 

“I wasn't willing to sit back and simply let others decide my fate,” Or told Channel 12. “No matter how much my freedom of choice was restricted, even within the most confined space imaginable, I still retained the right to choose.” 

After searching behind a pile of sandbags in his cell, Or felt a breeze, which helped him to realize he was not being held deep in a tunnel under Gaza. 

“I couldn't see anything because it was pitch black, but suddenly I felt... a breeze... airflow. And that’s something that doesn't happen in a tunnel,” he recounted. 

Over the next six months, he patiently dug through the sandbags, using an extension cord he found in his cell. He used a garbage bag to hide his activity from the security camera set up to monitor him. 

Through conversations with his captors, Avinatan also learned of his rough location in the Gaza Strip. 

Avinatan prepared an escape kit, which included clothes he found and a sack on which he planned to write the word “hostage” in Hebrew, in case he found IDF soldiers. He also wrote farewell letters, one each to his father and mother, in case he didn't survive the escape attempt. 

“I even wrote a will," he recounted to Channel 12. 

Although he saw videos of the hostage protests on television, Avinatan knew that his parents would not participate in them. 

“I knew they weren't part of the ‘Now’ movement,” he said. 

He related that when he met his parents after returning from Gaza, they apologized for not being part of the protests. 

“When my parents met me, they said, ‘We hope you aren't angry with us.’ I told them, ‘I’m not angry with you; I’m proud of you.’” 

“A person has to stick to their truth, even if it’s uncomfortable,” Or stated. “If their views had suddenly changed just because their son was there inside Gaza, then it wouldn't have been their truth.” 

“My parents fought for me like crazy,” Avinatan explained. “And while they were fighting for me, they were fighting for other things too—the two aren't mutually exclusive. The disagreement here was a matter of life and death. Do you want to save lives right now, or do you save lives for the future as well?” 

Or explained that he understands his parents’ reasoning. 

“It was clear to me that if we made a deal right then, I’d get out. But two or three days later, or a month, two months, a year, two years, ten years down the line, someone else would be sitting here in my place,” he explained. 

Over a year after being abducted, Avinatan finally managed to dig his way out to freedom. 

“Suddenly, I saw a little girl walking with a bag, and a few minutes later, a driver passing by with a wagon and a mare," he recounted. However, after months of working at night to avoid detection by his captors, seeing the open sky for the first time in months left him disoriented. 

He realized he should return to the cell and try to escape at night but he was caught. 

After being brought back to his cell, he was tortured. He remained in captivity for another year after being recaptured, enduring horrific conditions: forced starvation, beatings and being shackled to the cell door. 

While in captivity, Avinatan engaged his captors in conversations about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

One of his captors suggested that the Israeli Jews should flee to Europe, because Hamas planned to repeat the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. 

“Say goodbye to your father and mother, meet up with your friends, two, three, four days, a week, then pack a bag and go to Europe,” the terrorist said. “You know why? Because we’re going to do October 7th all over again. As long as there is a single Jew in the Land of Israel, we will slaughter you again and again.” 

Instead of being frightened, Or pushed back. He told the terrorist that just as the Arabs did not want to leave, the Jews were also not willing to leave. 

“I looked at him and said, ‘I’m not leaving,’” Avinatan recounted. “He asked, ‘Why?’ and I said, ‘Look at the Gaza Strip—everything here is ruin, everything here is death. When the war ends and the crossings open, will you leave for Egypt?’ He said, ‘No.’ I asked, ‘Why not?' He replied, ‘Because this is my home.’ I told him, ‘Excellent—this is my home, too.’” 

He told one of his captors, “In another 100 years, there will be Jews here. In another 100 years, there will be Arabs here. What will we choose to do during those 100 years? Do you want my child to kill your child, and your grandchild to kill mine? Or will we be wise enough to find a solution so that we can all live here? Because we will live here; one way or another, we will live here together.” 

Avinatan Or was freed in the final hostage release as part of the Gaza Peace Deal negotiated by President Donald Trump. He was released on Oct. 13, 2025, after two years of captivity.