Freed hostage Eitan Horn, in an interview that aired Sunday, described what he endured during his 738 days in Hamas captivity, including the traumatic moment when his brother was released while he remained in Gaza.

Eitan and his brother Iair were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the Hamas-led invasion and massacre on October 7, 2023, leaving behind a third brother, Amos. All three had immigrated to Israel from Argentina. Iair was freed in February as part of a previous ceasefire, while Eitan was freed under an October ceasefire deal.

Eitan told Channel 12 that for the first two weeks of captivity, the brothers were held separately; Eitan was in a group of hostages including women and children, while Iair was with men and soldiers. They knew nothing about each other’s fate until suddenly they ran into one another.

“I saw him from afar. We looked at each other and very quickly understood that we weren’t allowed to say we were brothers,” Eitan said, fearing their relation could be used against them by their captors.

“We didn’t open our mouths. We just continued. He saw me, he calmed down, and that gave us strength to keep going,” he said.

After about 50 days, when many of the women and children were released in an initial ceasefire, the brothers were reunited, becoming the only pair of brothers in captivity to be held together.

Iair also said he used humor to try to keep up their spirits. “Between us, with the group, even sometimes with them — with the captors, the terrorists.”

“Before each shower, and also after, he would ask me if I remembered to put soap on my belly button and clean it,” Eitan recalled. “It gave me a smile, and it’s a silly thing.”

“We could joke, but the few times I tried to really laugh, to laugh out loud, it was impossible,” Iair added. “I don’t........

© The Times of Israel