Thousands cheered Tuesday as a smiling Avinatan Or stepped out of the van bringing him from the hospital to his parents’ home in an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
Or, 30, was released last week along with 19 other hostages as part of a ceasefire deal that took effect in Gaza on October 10, under US mediation.
The footage of his abduction alongside his girlfriend Noa Argamani at the Nova music festival, broadcast on October 7, 2023, became iconic.
The video showed Argamani being dragged away on a motorcycle between two Palestinian militants, screaming and reaching her arms toward Or, while he stood with his hands tied behind his back, surrounded by several men.
While Argamani was rescued in June 2024 during a military operation in the central Gaza Strip, Or was only released by Hamas on October 14 as part of the latest ceasefire deal.
In the two years he was in Gaza, his family’s town of Shilo led a campaign for his release.
A roundabout at the entrance to the settlement was renamed ‘Avinatan Square’ in his honour.
In its middle, a yellow chair and a yellow door were placed, the colour symbolising support for the hostages.
After stepping out of the vehicle on Tuesday, Or passed through the yellow door surrounded by an ecstatic crowd chanting his name, and spoke a few words.
‘I hope we can take all the love you’ve given us for the years to come — we will only prevail with this love’, he said to applause, after thanking the crowd and the ‘soldiers, the heroes, without whom I would not be here among you today’.
‘A Sense Of Closure’
The second of seven siblings, Or grew up in the settlement of Shilo, in the northern occupied West Bank.
After the welcome at the settlement’s entrance, dancing broke out in front of a nearby synagogue to celebrate his return.
For Yehudit Nitzan, a local resident, the day carried a special meaning: her son Gilad, who had known Avinatan since childhood, was killed in battle early in the war in Gaza.
‘Gilad went off to war on 7 October to help bring Avinatan home (…) Two years later, Avinatan is back — I feel a sense of closure’, she told AFP, visibly moved.
For Shani Strenger, one of the settlement’s leaders, the day was ‘wonderful’.
‘We’ve all been waiting for this moment for two years — it’s wonderful, such an incredible feeling’, she shouted above the blaring music.
In Gaza, his captors kept him in isolation in a tunnel for two years, according to accounts relayed by his parents after his release.
Gaunt and visibly weak, he raised his fist in a gesture of victory after his brief remarks, as the crowd chanted his name.
Strewn on the ground, dozens of small posters bore his face and the words: ‘Avinatan, great to have you back’.
