The family of Avinatan Or received a sign of life from one of the returning hostages, Channel 12 news reported Wednesday.
The family had not received any sign of life since his capture, and they were not sure he was still alive. The sign of life came from interviews with one of the released hostages, who said he was held together with Avinatan in harsh conditions without food and with very little water.
His family said that according to the information received, he is being held in the central camps in the Gaza Strip in difficult conditions. Avinatan's brother, Moshe Or, said the sign of life is a "great relief."
He said the family was contacted by military intelligence with the news.
"[Tuesday], we were contacted by intelligence," Moshe told Channel 12, "who told us that they managed to receive a sign of life, certainly from the recent period. They didn't say exactly when, but from the recent period."
According to him, "We always knew he was alive. Now we are receiving official confirmation. It puts wind in the sails, more energy to keep going forward and not give up."
Moshe also noted that "we are happy, the last sign of life we received was the kidnapping video."
Avinatan, 32, a resident of Tel Aviv, was kidnapped from the Nova Festival along with his girlfriend Noa Argamani, who was rescued in Operation Arnon on June 8, 2024.
After receiving the news that Avinatan is still alive, Noa wrote a post to Instagram, saying, "Until Avinatan returns, my heart is in captivity."
Argamani has been very active since her release, petitioning world leaders and organizations to help secure the release of the remaining hostages.
Avinatan's parents, Yaron and Ditza Or, are among the founders of the Tikva (Hope) Forum, a forum of families of hostages that supports increasing military pressure on Hamas and opposes making a hostage release deal that does not free all the hostages.
"This whole issue of the phases is a lie because, in fact, anyone who is not in the first phase — in my opinion, will not return, he is paying the price," Ditza said in an interview with Channel 12 News.
"I ask — what mother would be willing to sign a deal that says her son will stay there in exchange for someone who goes home?" she added.
Currently, 59 hostages are still being held in Gaza after the release of 33 hostages in phase one alongside five Thai hostages. Of those 59, 24 are officially defined as still alive, based on the most recent information. During the first phase of the hostage-ceasefire deal, several signs of life were received from hostages returning from Gaza, and so far, signs have been received about most of the 24 hostages.
Republished with permission from All Israel News.