Returned After 498 Days, Iair Horn Speaks Out: “My Body is Free—But My Heart is Still in Gaza”
After 498 harrowing days in Hamas captivity, Iair Horn has returned home—but his heart, he says, remains in Gaza with his younger brother Eitan, who is still being held hostage.
In an emotional interview with Channel 12 News, Iair described his ordeal as “an endless nightmare”, recalling the darkness of the tunnels and the constant fear of death. But it’s his brother’s ongoing suffering that now torments him most.
“There was a bombing near our location once, and we had to run,” he shared. “Eitan isn’t athletic—he weighs over 100 kilos. I grabbed him by the arm and pulled him. Now I’m not there to help him.”
The brothers were separated for fifty days before they were briefly reunited. In captivity, they joined forces with fellow hostages Sagui Dekel Chen, David Cunio, and Nimrod Cohen, trying to maintain some sense of identity and hope.
“We became a kind of family,” Iair recalled. “We clung to our humor—it may have been silly, but it kept us human. We couldn’t even laugh properly. There was barely any oxygen.”
But the reunion was fleeting. One day, the captors announced that two hostages would be released. “We didn’t know who. We looked at each other—and when they said it was me and Sagui, we understood. We didn’t speak. We just stayed silent.”
That silence still echoes. In a wrenching video released by Hamas months ago, Eitan is seen sobbing on Iair’s shoulder, whispering, “It’s not right to separate families.”
Eitan, who suffers from a chronic skin condition, is reportedly being held without access to treatment or medication. “The best care for him,” Iair stressed, “is to bring him home. Only we know how to care for him.”
Now, as negotiations for a hostage deal continue—one that could see the release of only ten of the remaining captives—Iair pleads for urgency and inclusion.
“This nightmare will never leave me. But it’s gone on too long,” he said. “We need all fifty brought home. End this already.”
Despite the trauma, Iair clings to hope—not just for his brother, but for a wounded nation. “We’re all living this nightmare together. Maybe healing can begin once it ends.”
