Days after being released from Hamas captivity, freed captive Iair Horn insisted on attending the Tel Aviv protest marking 500 days since October 7 and getting a message across.
He was unable to leave the hospital, however. And though he was surrounded by doctors asking him what he needed to make him feel comfortable during his first days of freedom, his response was clear.
“You’re asking me what I need? I need one thing. What I need is for you to bring back my brother,” Horn said, bursting into tears, his sister-in-law Dalia Cusnir-Horn recalled.
Instead, Horn opted to record a video message that would be displayed at the protest. His message emphasized that the hostages may not be able to survive and that part of his soul was still in Gaza as his younger brother, Eitan, was still being held against his will in the Strip.
Cusnir-Horn shared details of her brother-in-law’s captivity for the first time since his release while accompanying her family at the hospital where he was receiving treatment.
“He’s up and walking on his own two feet,” she shared. After his emotional plea for the return of his brother, Horn explained that he took the responsibility of taking care of Eitan as the older sibling.
Eitan Horn's story
Born and raised in Argentina, Iair immigrated to Israel in 1999 with a group of young people from the Habonim Dror youth movement. Within a couple of years, his younger brothers Amos and Eitan also made Aliyah. Eitan was only 16, choosing to come with a program that would allow him to finish his high school studies in Israel.
Eitan, who lives in Kfar Saba near his brother Amos and his wife and two children, 12 and nine, was visiting his brother at Kibbutz Nir Oz over the weekend of October 7.
“He also felt the responsibility that, in a way, he was abducted from the place Iair invited him to. He kept saying ‘I need my brother, I need you to take out all the rest of the hostages. You have no idea what the living conditions are like there. Eitan suffers from a very severe skin disease. Other people are sick, injured, or just, you know, tortured and devastated after so many days,” she said.
She noted that Horn, a diabetic, did not receive any medication during his captivity despite government efforts, including any Red Cross efforts, or lack thereof.
For 498 days, Horn was unaware of the extent of what had happened.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time he was unaware of anything. He was aware of the fact that a year ago, there was an agreement, and he thought that all the women, kids, and elderly people were liberated,” Cusnir-Horn said.
She said Horn was furious to learn that more remained in captivity through the year.
“He was very upset to understand that for all this time and all the suffering, there were still women and kids and older people [in captivity]... I mean, he saw specific people so he knew that they were there, but nothing else.”
For nearly 500 days, Horn remained largely unaware of the extent of the October 7 massacre. He did not know what happened to his home and his kibbutz. He was unaware that one out of four people in his community were abducted or murdered that day, nor did he know just how big and fast the invasion and destruction of the day had gone.
“As long as there are hostages still there, I am still a hostage,” Horn said.
Though his family is grateful to have him back – his niece and nephew sitting in his hospital room, staring at him in shock that a man they love so much has finally returned – the fight is not over.
“He’s Uncle Eitan,” Cusnir-Horn said. “I cannot wait to see Eitan coming back and dancing, singing, all the games.”
Until then, the Horn clan is incomplete, with a hole in their hearts only their beloved brother can fill.