By: Fern Sidman – Jewish Voice News

In a deeply moving and unflinchingly candid interview, Ditza Or, the mother of hostage survivor Avinatan Or, has described in painful detail the unimaginable conditions her son endured during nearly two years of captivity under Hamas, shedding light on the brutality, deprivation, and psychological torment inflicted upon the hostages held in Gaza.

Speaking to Israel National News on Sunday, Or recounted how her son was kept in what she called a “human cage” — a cell smaller than two meters in length and the width of a single mattress, where he lived shackled and chained for most of his imprisonment.

“He was shackled and chained to the bars,” she told Israel National News. “Even when they gave him food, they demanded that he turn to the wall so that he wouldn’t see the person putting food on his plate.”

Her words, quiet yet fierce, expose the systemic cruelty of Hamas captivity — a methodical degradation designed to break both body and spirit.

Despite the cruelty of his conditions, Ditza said her son’s mental discipline became his salvation.

“He remembers every day — what happened on the 80th day, the 409th day… He is very focused,” she told Israel National News.

Avinatan, she explained, forced himself to maintain a daily routine, marking time and structure amid chaos. His mother described this discipline as a form of resistance — an assertion of identity in the face of total captivity.

“He was subjected to severe mental abuse,” Ditza said, “but he insisted on keeping order — in his thoughts, in his time, and in his will to live.”

Among the most dramatic revelations in her interview with Israel National News was Ditza’s account of her son’s audacious escape attempt, which nearly succeeded after months of meticulous planning.

“When half his body was already above ground inside a house in Gaza, they discovered him and pulled him back inside — and then he was beaten,” she said. “It’s not clear how he survived that.”

The attempt, which reportedly took place deep within an urban neighborhood controlled by Hamas, was an extraordinary act of courage that came at a terrible cost. According to the Israel National News report, sources familiar with the case confirmed that Avinatan suffered severe physical punishment afterward, but somehow endured the ordeal.

Ditza also revealed how Hamas’s treatment of hostages worsened following false media reports inside Israel, particularly after the now-infamous fabricated video of an alleged rape case at Sde Teiman was publicized.

“When that fake video was broadcast,” she told Israel National News, “many of the hostages were severely beaten.”

Her statement aligns with recent IDF findings that media leaks and misinformation have often directly endangered captives, as Hamas interprets Israeli domestic debates and scandals as provocations, taking vengeance on hostages in response.

According to the information provided in the Israel National News report, intelligence sources have verified that Hamas monitored Israeli media throughout the war, using televised reports and social media to justify reprisals against Israeli prisoners.

Ditza Or did not spare criticism for Israel’s own institutions. Following the resignation of Military Advocate-General Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, she called for a direct reckoning with the hostages and their families.

“She needs to go from one hostage to another and apologize for all the abuse he suffered because of her,” Or said. “The damage on all fronts was very serious.”

Her comments, reported by Israel National News, reflect growing frustration among families who feel that internal mismanagement and political grandstanding have worsened the plight of both released and remaining captives.

Several hostage family advocacy groups echoed Or’s remarks, calling for an independent commission to review how leaks and false reports have impacted the treatment of hostages in Gaza.

Now free, Avinatan Or faces a long and difficult process of physical and emotional rehabilitation. Yet, according to his mother, his clarity of purpose remains intact.

“It was clear to him that it was the state’s duty to ensure that October 7th would not happen again,” Ditza said in her conversation with Israel National News.

Despite the trauma, she described her son as calm, composed, and fiercely determined to rebuild his life while bearing witness to what he endured.

“Even though he was not directly exposed to the media,” she added, “he understood his situation very well. He knew exactly where he was, what was being done to him, and what it meant for Israel.”

As the Israel National News report observed, the story of Avinatan Or reflects a broader truth about Hamas’s strategy — one rooted not merely in physical imprisonment, but in psychological warfare.

By isolating hostages, denying them light, human contact, and even the dignity of sight, Hamas sought to strip them of identity and hope. Yet survivors like Avinatan stand as living refutations of that effort — reminders that the human spirit, even when chained, cannot be extinguished.

Security officials cited by Israel National News emphasize that every recovered hostage provides critical testimony about Hamas’s internal operations, revealing systematic patterns of abuse and propaganda. These accounts are now shaping Israel’s ongoing case against the terror group in international forums.

For Ditza Or, the past two years have been an unrelenting test of faith and endurance. Speaking to Israel National News, she said her son’s return was both miraculous and haunting — “the moment I’d prayed for, and the one I feared.”

She continues to advocate for the remaining hostages still held in Gaza, urging Israelis not to allow the country to grow numb. “My son is home,” she said, “but others are not. Until they all return, none of us can truly rest.”

As the Israel National News report noted, her words are more than a mother’s lament — they are a moral indictment and a national call to conscience.

In the final moments of her interview, Ditza reflected on the meaning of survival — not only for her son, but for Israel itself.

“Avinatan’s story isn’t just about suffering,” she told Israel National News. “It’s about remembering who we are, and what we must never allow to happen again.”

Her son’s endurance — keeping count of every single day in the darkness — now stands as a testament to resilience in the face of inhumanity.

Through his survival, and his mother’s voice, the story of captivity becomes one of resistance — not just against Hamas, but against the forces of despair, doubt, and moral erosion that the war has unleashed.