On October 7, 2023, seventy-year-old Luis Har was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak and taken hostage into Gaza. He spent 129 days in Hamas captivity, held in a house in the heart of Rafah, until an Israeli special forces operation brought him home.Rescued is Luis Har's firsthand account of kidnapping, captivity, survival, and the difficult journey that begins after freedom. From his roots in Argentina and his quiet kibbutz life to the endless days as a hostage in Gaza, Luis recounts the mental strength, routines, relationships, and hope that helped him endure.Inside, Luis recounts: The October 7 attack on his family's safe room and their abduction into GazaThe daily routines that helped the hostages remain resilient, from cooking with whatever food they could find to memory games and watching a patch of sky through the windowThe November 2023 release of his partner Clara, her sister Gabriela, and her niece Mia, followed by the long weeks Luis and Fernando Marman spent alone with their captorsThe dramatic night of February 12, 2024, when Israeli forces entered the apartment in Rafah and rescued Luis and Fernando in Operation "Golden Hand"His family's fight for his freedom, his difficult road to recovery, and the Tikvah monument he helped create in Hostage SquareMore than an account of October 7 and Hamas captivity, Rescued is a deeply personal story of survival, resilience, family, and the sustaining power of tikvah (hope). It offers a rare firsthand perspective on life as a hostage in Gaza and pays tribute to those who fought for the hostages' return and the soldiers who risked their lives to bring Luis home.
