‘We didn’t eat bread on Passover, tried to fast on Yom Kippur’: How ex-hostages clung to faith

The IDF observers from Nahal Oz made a conscious effort to observe Jewish traditions even while being held underground and in Hamas-controlled apartments in Gaza.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF JANUARY 30, 2025 22:18

Agam Berger reunited with her family (photo credit: IDF)

After 482 days in Hamas captivity, Israeli hostages Arbel Yehud, Gadi Moses, and Agam Berger returned home on Thursday, revealing harrowing details of their ordeal—including how they clung to their faith, refusing to eat leavened bread on Passover and attempting to fast on Yom Kippur, despite their captors’ cruelty.

The IDF observers from Nahal Oz, including Agam Berger, made a conscious effort to observe Jewish traditions even while being held underground and in Hamas-controlled apartments in Gaza, Ynet reported.

Despite the dire conditions, they refused to eat chametz (leavened bread) on Passover and attempted to fast on Yom Kippur, a difficult task given the severe malnutrition they suffered.

Berger, the last IDF observer to be released, said that holding onto faith gave her strength. She had remained in captivity alone for a full week after her comrades Liri, Daniella, Naama, and Karina were freed. She reportedly took comfort in knowing they had been released and held onto hope that she would be next, according to Kan News.

Families of four released hostages reunite with the returned hostages, January 25, 2025. (credit: CHAIM TZACH/GPO)

482 days of isolation

For nearly 16 months, Arbel Yehud was held in complete isolation, underground for extended periods. She suffered from severe malnutrition, had minimal food, and endured cruel treatment from her captors.

According to Kan News, Yehud was informed during her captivity that her brother, Dolev Yehud, had been murdered in the October 7 attack on Nir Oz. Still, she remained unaware of the full scale of the massacre. "I was mostly alone," she reportedly said after her release.

"What you saw today—the armed men escorting me—that is just a fraction of the horror,” she said of the thousands of terrorists whom surrounded her in Khan Yunis, while being transferred to the Red Cross on her way back to Israel.

Gadi Moses: ‘I never broke, I never cried’

80-year-old Gadi Moses spent his captivity focusing on the day he would return home to rebuild his community. "I never broke, I never cried—I just waited for the moment I would be free," he told his family, as reported by Kan News.

Moses saw his relatives on TV, including footage on Al Jazeera, but had no contact with them. Like Yehud, he was mentally and physically tested throughout his captivity but refused to give up hope.