Former hostage Avinatan Or has revealed that he spent approximately six months secretly preparing an escape attempt while being held by Hamas in Gaza following his abduction on October 7, 2023.

In an interview with Israel’s Uvda, Or described being held in an underground cell in near-total darkness. While searching his surroundings, he noticed air coming through a section of what appeared to be a sandbag wall.

“That doesn’t happen in a tunnel,” Or recalled thinking.

He began secretly digging through the wall, using whatever materials were available to him. For months, he worked while using a garbage bag to shield himself from a security camera. He also used a roughly 60-meter extension cable as a makeshift digging tool.

Or quietly prepared for the possibility that he might actually escape. He packed clothes into a bag, marked another sack with the word “Hostage,” and even wrote a will and letters to his parents in case he was killed during the attempt.

Eventually, Or managed to break through the barrier, but Hamas guards discovered him before he could get away and recaptured him.

He said his treatment became even more brutal afterward, describing beatings, torture and severe food deprivation.

Or was eventually released roughly a year after being taken hostage.

In another striking moment during his captivity, Or said a Hamas terrorist told him to say goodbye to his family and friends and leave Israel for Europe, warning that Hamas would carry out another October 7-style attack against Israelis as long as Jews remained in the country.

Or said he refused.

“I’m not leaving.”

He then asked the terrorist whether he planned to leave Gaza for Egypt once the war ended. When the terrorist replied that he would remain because Gaza was his home, Or responded:

“Excellent, this is my home, too.”