Held hostage by Hamas militants for 129 days, Israeli recounts the horror to Staten Island JCC crowd

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — It was 11:22 a.m. on Oct. 7, 2023, when Luis Har was taken from the home of his girlfriend, Clara, in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak in Israel, near the Gaza border by Hamas militants.

Shortly after having gathered in a safe room, Har, along with Clara, her brother, Fernando; her sister, Gabriela; her niece, Mia, and their dog, Bella, heard pounding at the door and the breaking of windows.

Moments later, in what Har says “seemed like a movie,” they were surrounded by dozens of armed individuals screaming at them in Arabic and vandalizing the home.

Driven out of Israel on the back of a pickup truck and held captive in a small second-story apartment in what he believed to be Rafah, in Southern Gaza, it would be 129 days until he saw freedom and his family.

Har, a 72-year-old grandfather from Argentina, and one of more than 250 Israelis taken hostage that day, visited at the Joan & Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Staten Island on Tuesday, March 25, to speak of his harrowing experience before hundreds who gathered in Sea View Tuesday evening.

Amid a large NYPD presence and a group of pro-Palestinian protestors marching down Manor Road, Har, with the aid of an interpreter, peppered his tale with moments of light-hearted humor, but emphasized that throughout his ordeal he never knew which day may be his last.

“Staten Island stands with Israel,” said Borough President Vito Fossella. “We’re fortunate that the JCC on Staten Island for the last 535 days has done so much to help those families in need.”

Fossella, along with members of the Island’s Jewish community, welcomed Har, who has been touring the country, recounting his story, in the hopes of reminding Americans that there are still 59 hostages who remain in captivity.

“From the moment we heard that Luis was taken, our hearts sank,” said Orit Lender, CEO of the JCC of Staten Island, who spent many of her childhood summers at the kibbutz from which Har was kidnapped. “The idea of him being in Gaza was heart-wrenching,” she said.

After 53 days, his girlfriend, Clara, her sister and niece were freed, along with Bella the dog, as part of a November cease-fire and hostage deal, Har recalled.

But without a radio or TV, he and his fellow hostages relied on their captors to tell them what was going on during the early days of the ongoing war.

Eventually going on to cook for those holding him hostage, Har said that food slowly became scarce, and the hostages were forced to share and ration their minuscule meals.

They were only allowed to bathe every two weeks, sharing a sliver of soap and bucket of cold water, he said.

However, on Feb. 12, 2024, Har awoke to an explosion in the middle of the night, as the Israeli military, known as the Israel Defense Forces, bombed the building they were being held in.

According to published reports, the Israeli military carried out large-scale airstrikes in Rafah as a diversion to provide cover for special forces during the rescue mission.

More than 70 Palestinian men, women and children were killed during those strikes, and more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, according to Gaza health officials.

While Har still has difficulty sleeping as he recalls his time in captivity, he tries to maintain a positive outlook.

“Our home is still standing,” he says. “Don’t give up your hope.”