Even as Iair Horn, 46, returned home to Israel on Saturday, he was forced to wait for the return of his younger brother Eitan, who is still held captive in Gaza.
Iair and Eitan were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz together on October 7, 2023.
Eitan, who lives in central Israel with their mother, was visiting his brother on October 7 when they heard sirens blaring in the background. Moments later, it became clear that Hamas had invaded southern Israel.
Subjected to days of silence, not knowing of their sons’ whereabouts, a liaison officer told them days later that the boys had been abducted, the family told Haaretz.
The family made aliyah from Argentina, with Iair being the final member to eventually move to Israel.
When he was released from captivity on Saturday, his family gifted him merchandise from his favorite soccer team, Hapoel Beersheba, in his room at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv.
“He gives everything he has to the kibbutz, just like a veteran member. He organizes all the holidays and celebrations,” their mother Ruth Strum told The Jerusalem Post. “He even does stand-up, radio broadcasting, and manages the local pub at Nir Oz, making a mobile pub on wheels during COVID-19, going house to house to bring his neighbors and friends drinks.”
Before his release, Strum told Reuters, “What will happen at the moment when they are separated and told that one is coming out and the other is not? I know that their strength is to be together, to be there for each other.”
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said, “We need to bring Eitan back so our family can truly breathe. We thank the IDF soldiers and security forces who risk their lives and bodies, and send condolences to the bereaved families who lost their most precious ones for all of us.”
Signs of life
The two men were last confirmed alive in testimonies shared by released hostages in November 2023, under a previous deal. Since then, little has been shared about their welfare.
“The kids are effectively well; they are alive, which is the most important thing,” their father, Itzik Horn, announced to Argentine news agency Télam. “Now, we need to be patient because this will drag on.”
Strum recounted that “they said that they were not injured. At first, they were held in an apartment but were later moved to the tunnels.”
Before Hamas's attacks
Before their abduction, both Horn brothers were passionate about travel, The Rolling Stones and Hapoel Beersheba.
Itzik has been critical of the weekly demonstrations demanding a deal, claiming to Haaretz that while he is not “pro-Bibi,” the “Kaplan [demonstrations are] detrimental to “widespread support… even though they are well-intentioned.”
Speaking of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair, Itzik said that the prime minister had flown his plane to Miami to hug and kiss Yair Netanyahu on his birthday, a privilege not shared by the family of the hostages.
“Get our children out,” Itzik insisted. “Then do with Gaza whatever you want."