80-year old freed hostage Gadi Moses describes walking 7km, solving complex math problems during captivity

‘At some point, he realized he had to stop expecting immediate rescue and shift his focus to surviving each day. He taught himself to think differently.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Freed hostage, 80-year-old Gadi Moses, kept himself occupied during his captivity by walking seven kilometers a day in his tiny room and solving complex math problems in his head.

Moses’ nephew, Shai, said in an interview, “At some point, he realized he had to stop expecting immediate rescue and shift his focus to surviving each day. He taught himself to think differently, to keep pushing forward, and to avoid the crushing disappointment of not being freed the next morning.”

Moses had only learned of the murder of his long-term partner, Efrat Katz, 68, during his captivity and discovered that his daughter, Moran, had survived the Hamas invasion on October 7th when he was freed after 483 days.

Although Moses was not held in tunnels like other hostages, he was confined in isolation in a tiny, dark, unsanitary room and given very little food.

To comfort himself, Moses would have imaginary conversations with his loved ones.

He hadn’t had any contact with another Israeli until he was escorted by Arbel Yehoud, 29, amid chaotic and hostile crowds in Gaza prior to their release.

Moses talked to his captors and even negotiated access to a television, where he saw Israelis protesting for the release of hostages. This gave him strength and helped him understand that the nation was fighting for their return home.

An agronomist and potato expert, Moses told his captors that, when the war ended and if peace were achieved, he would teach them how to farm.

He also fearlessly debated the terrorists about the ownership of the land of Israel.

The Hamas captors taunted him, asking, “Where are your parents from? Go back there!”

When they asserted that their ancestors lived in the land before the Jews, Moses responded, “What are you talking about? Our people lived in these places 3,000 years ago!”