Or, 32, said that he was beaten by his captors “for days,” and was tied to a chair for a week. “I was sure I would die there,” he said.
But even then, he continued, he wrote three things next to his bed: “This too shall pass,” “patience” and “let it be.”
These words “kept me going,” he said. “I had too much time to think about life [in the tunnels]. I used to believe I had bad luck. How could this happen to me? Now I understand something different. Everything in my life – my childhood, my parents, my education, my army service, working in construction, studying engineering – all of it made me who I am. And who I am is what kept me alive.”
Or went on to say that he does not see himself as a hero. “I didn’t choose to be a hostage. The heroes are the soldiers, the ones who choose to fight for others.”
The former hostage thanked Israeli forces for saving many lives, adding that now he wants to help them. “That is my next mission,” he stressed.
Or, David and Gilboa-Dalal were released on October 13 as part of Israel’s ceasefire deal with Hamas, having endured 738 days in captivity.
Argamani, Or’s girlfriend, was rescued in a special operation by Israeli security forces on June 8, 2024, named “Operation Arnon” after Commander Arnon Zamora, the only serviceman killed during the operation.
The couple was kidnapped from the Nova music festival near the Gaza border on October7.
Argamani being forcefully separated from Or by the terrorists was captured on film and has become one of the most iconic and harrowing images of that day.
