Former Gaza hostage recalls hiding his identity as an Israeli soldier

Former hostage Rom Braslavski has shared a photograph of himself in uniform taken shortly before he was abducted during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.

“A young soldier, just moments before his life as he knew it ended and he was taken to Gaza,” Braslavski wrote on social media. Addressing his younger self, he added: “Hold your head high. You will be proud of your flag and your uniform.”

Braslavski said he concealed the fact that he was a soldier during his first six months in captivity, despite repeated interrogation and pressure from his captors.

“It wasn’t easy, but I managed,” he wrote. “Then, after six months, the situation became worse.”

According to Braslavski, the psychological pressure and physical abuse intensified as his captors searched a computer for information about him.

“At that moment, I realized it was over for me,” he wrote.

Braslavski said the decisive moment came while he was being held in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. As he pretended to be asleep, he overheard his captors discussing the imminent discovery of his identity.

“I took advantage of that first moment and confessed,” he wrote. “I admitted in front of some of the most senior and powerful Islamic Jihad leaders in Gaza that I was an Israeli soldier.”

“I was afraid, but I didn’t hesitate,” he continued. “What happened next is unbearable, so I won’t go into detail. Thank God, it’s over.”

Braslavski also demanded answers over the security failures that enabled the attack on the Nova music festival and his subsequent abduction.

“Why didn’t the Air Force act on October 7? Why has no one been held accountable? How were they able to enter our country like that?” he asked.

“How was it possible to allow the massacre of so many people at Nova—and why?”