Freed hostage recounts tunnel escape attempt, brutal beating

Avinatan Or dug his way out of a tunnel, wrote “hostage” on a sandbag in the hope that IDF forces would find him.

By World Israel News Staff

Freed hostage Avinatan Or recounted a daring escape attempt he launched during his two years of captivity in Gaza — an effort that ended with him being severely beaten after his Hamas captors discovered his plan.

Or, who was kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival alongside his girlfriend, Noa Argamani, was released with 19 other living hostages as part of the Trump-brokered ceasefire agreement finalized in October.

Speaking Sunday evening at the Jewish Federations of North America General Assembly in Washington, D.C., Or described the desperate attempt he made to free himself from Hamas captivity.

“I tried to escape. I dug for weeks through sandbags, through a collapsed tunnel toward the surface. I made myself work to change my own destiny,” Or said.

“One day, as I was digging, I hit the root of a tree. I smelled it. It felt like touching life in the place of death,” he said.

“Then, one night, I reached the outside. I saw stars for the first time in years.”

At that point, Or said he wrote the word “hostage” on a sandbag, presumably hoping to attract the attention of IDF forces. But his captors soon discovered what he had been doing.

“They beat me for days. They tied me to a chair for a week,” Or recalled.

Despite spending more than two years underground — starved, tortured, and isolated — Or said he credited a few things with keeping him alive.

“My engineering background saved me. I counted steps, collected data, built a small lamp from broken cables, planned escape routes in my head and told myself ‘you won’t let others decide your fate,’” he said.

Or added that he had heard radio broadcasts shortly before being moved into the tunnels, during the brief period he was held above ground shortly after his kidnapping.

“I heard… about all the love and support from the Jewish communities in America and around the world,” Or said.

“You prayed for me and for all the other hostages to return home safely as soon as possible. You gave me hope and strength.”