After nearly 500 days, a Shabbat rest

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Additionally, Michael explained that some of what his brother endured while in captivity was too traumatic to be shared publicly, and thus is not included in this report. WORLD previously interviewed Michael when Or was still being held hostage.

Last month, Or Levy was finally able to celebrate Shabbat dinner with his family for the first time in nearly 500 days.

The 34-year-old Israeli and his wife, Eynav, were at the Supernova festival just outside Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants attacked. Eynav was murdered, while Or and roughly 250 other hostages were kidnapped and held hostage in Gaza. For the next 490 days, Or’s brother Michael lobbied for Or’s release, while Or’s 3-year-old son, Almog, waited to be reunited with his father.

That day finally came on Feb. 8, when Or and two other hostages, 52-year-old Eli Sharabi and 56-year-old Ohad Ben Ami, were released as part of the initial phase of a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Hamas militants hoisted the three emaciated, weak hostages onto a stage for what amounted to a photo op. Gunmen then escorted them to a waiting Red Cross vehicle. Later that day, they were at last reunited with their loved ones.

WORLD spoke with Or’s brother, Michael, about that reunion and what Or and the other hostages experienced.

We are so grateful that your brother is finally home. How is he today?
“I think everyone who saw the videos of his release was horrified. He looked awful. It was obvious that he was starved. Unfortunately—and I hate this comparison—the only time I saw people looking like this was after the Holocaust.

“But fortunately, since that day, he is recovering slowly. Every day is a bit better. There will be ups and downs all the time, but the direction is good and is improving.”

Can you give an example of how much food he and the other hostages got on a typical day? I can’t share too many specifics. But I can tell you that sometimes they ate a quarter of pita bread a day. That’s how bad the conditions were. It’s something that the human mind cannot even imagine. His legs were so thin that I could see bones and skin. That’s it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fiercely criticized Hamas for turning the release of the hostages into a display designed to humiliate them.
“They actually forced Or to thank them for feeding him. Every person who is looking at Or and the other hostages—Eli and Ohad who were with him—can tell that they were actually starved. The hostages were treated worse than animals.

“And do you know what? I think it’s good that the world can actually see how evil this terrible organization is. Because I know that everyone in Israel already knows that they are evil. You and others in the United States probably know it as well, but there are still people around the world who claim that Hamas is a legitimate army. An army does not act like they did. [Soldiers] don’t kill babies with their own hands.”

There were media reports that some of the hostages received—for lack of a better description—grab bags from Hamas when they were released, as strange as that sounds.
“I laugh, because it's just another demonstration of how sick and twisted they are. I mean, they gave them their version of souvenirs from Gaza, just to act as if the hostages came to Gaza for the sake of traveling. Obviously, that's not true—those people were kidnapped from their beds, or from music festivals.”

Did your brother receive anything?
“The only thing Or got was a certificate. But I know from other hostages who were released, some of them got pictures of cities in Gaza, or some kind of Hamas scarf or headband. The fact that they gave the hostages some kind of souvenir or certificate, does not change the fact that they almost died in captivity numerous times. It does not change the fact that (other) hostages were executed in captivity. …Hamas terrorists are psychopaths.”

I know this is a difficult topic. When your brother was released, did he know his wife, Eynav, had been murdered back on Oct. 7?
He wasn’t sure. Because unfortunately—actually I’m not sure if it’s unfortunate or not—he did not know it. He did not see it. Actually, his first question was to ask for assurance that Eynav was not alive. Unfortunately, that was the fact. He kind of knew, but he wasn’t 100% sure.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli-American who was abducted with your brother. Or had never met Goldberg-Polin before Oct. 7, but in a video the two were shown together, being loaded onto a truck by Hamas militants. Goldberg-Polin was severely wounded, missing part of his arm. He was later murdered in captivity. I heard that your brother asked about him as soon as he was released.
“So, he asked, ‘There was this guy named Hersh. Do you know something about him? Because I think he was released.’ That’s what he thought. I had to tell him that Hersh had been executed. Obviously, he was sad. They weren’t together too long—just a couple of days—but Hersh affected him.

“When we got to the hospital, I called Hersh’s parents and told them that the second question Or asked me was about Hersh.”

Was Or able to form bonds with other hostages in captivity?
“Yes. He didn’t know any of them [before captivity]. He was kidnapped together with Hersh, Eliya Cohen, and Alon Ohel. And he spent most—actually all—of his days in captivity with Alon Ohel and Eliya Cohen. And at some point, Eli Sharabi joined them. Those were the three he was with almost all of the time. They have a special connection. I guess that’s something that, if you weren’t there, you can’t understand the kind of bond that those guys have.

“Unfortunately, only three out of the four have been released. Alon Ohel is still behind.”

Tell me about Or’s reunion with his 3-year-old son, Almog.
“We were worried that Almog either wouldn’t recognize him, or would be afraid of him, because that’s how kids react sometimes. But Almog had waited so long, and he was thrilled to see and meet him. We started with a phone call. And then a video call. They met only after the video call.

“I still remember that when Almog got to the hospital, he ran through the corridors and yelled, ‘Where’s my daddy?’ Everyone was crying around him, obviously—happy tears—but it was an amazing moment to see them hug. It was as if they were never apart for a second. An amazing moment. The only word I can think of is ‘magical.’”

Your brother spent 491 days as a Hamas hostage. What were some of the first things he wanted to do when he got home?
“He actually missed the little things. He didn’t have huge dreams about big things he missed. What he missed the most was sitting in Shabbat dinner with the whole family, eating, and talking. And laughing.

I don’t think we in the United States understand the importance Israelis place on Shabbat dinner. Can you explain the significance?
“It is a cultural family custom for us, whether you’re religious or not. In Israel, Friday is kind of a holy day. Even if you’re not religious, it’s a very special day. The whole family usually sits together on Friday evening and we eat—probably too much! We drink wine, we talk, we laugh, we celebrate. We argue about things that are not very important sometimes. But it’s a lot of fun because the whole family is united. The kids can play together and you can catch up on things that happened in the past week.

“Every Friday since Or was released, we have been together.”

What else did your brother miss?
“He’s just happy to take his son to kindergarten or to read a story to him before he goes to sleep. With me, he is happy to just sit together with a beer and watch a basketball game—just those little things that we tend to take for granted because you can’t do it in captivity.

Your brother visited Hostage Square in Tel Aviv less than a week after he was released from the hospital.
“He actually insisted on going. He wanted to go earlier, but we and the doctors wouldn’t let him. He was released on a Saturday and on the [following] Friday—after he had a lot of fights and arguments with us—we and the doctors finally agreed to let him go.

“We went early in the morning on Friday, when the square was almost empty. It was me, him, and our father. Or went to the square and removed some of the signs with his face on them. It was a very emotional moment, both for him and for us. That was a place that was so symbolic for us—for this whole fight. And it was amazing, amazing closure to see him there alive and able to remove those signs.”

And your family regularly visits the square?
“Or and our family are still fighting for Alon Ohel as well. Or promised him that he wouldn’t stop, and we won’t stop. My family used to stand in Hostage Square with signs of Or. After Or was released, we switched to signs of Alon. We want all of the hostages back.”

Many of our readers are religious. How can they be praying for Or and your family?
“First of all, I want to thank them for praying for us up until now. I don’t know what helped, but I guess people who had belief helped.

”And I want them to keep praying, not just for us, and for the rest of the hostages who are still there. I want to ask them to do anything in their power. It can be something small like praying or mentioning the name of one of the hostages. Or just learning their story and talking about it. Just do something—whatever you can do—to bring the hostages back.”