Freed Hostage Braslavski Was on Brink of Death, Says Uncle

Rom Braslavski, one of the last Israeli hostages released by Hamas under this week’s historic ceasefire deal, is still reeling from the trauma of his 738-day captivity a brutal ordeal that his uncle, Ze’ev, says nearly killed him.

“He’s in shock, not really understanding what’s happening to him,” Ze’ev said in a Tuesday interview. “He wasn’t in Thailand, after all. It’s a miracle he made it out of that hell. If there hadn’t been a deal, there would have been no one to release.”

Braslavski, 25, was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023 a day of unspeakable horrors. He spent much of his time in Gaza isolated, starved, beaten, and exposed to relentless danger. “They were shot at, bombs fell near them, and when the terrorists saw there was no deal in sight, the abuse worsened,” Ze’ev explained.

Food was nearly nonexistent just a piece of bread in the morning, a spoon of rice at noon. There were no showers, no light, no clean water, and constant psychological torment. “Every time negotiations stalled, their treatment deteriorated. You're dealing with psychopaths,” his uncle added.

Braslavski wasn’t held underground but was moved frequently, kept mostly alone. Occasionally, he was held with other hostages, like Sasha Troufanov. He learned to speak fluent Arabic, communicated with captors, and found strength through prayer and faith. At one point, he wrote to himself to stay sane until those notes were taken away.

Despite the horror, Rom’s spirit never broke. “He held on through faith and the will to live,” Ze’ev said. “Seeing us, picturing us, kept him going.” On rare occasions, his captors let him watch television. He saw reports about himself and the hostage crisis glimpses that lifted his spirit. “It gave him strength and joy to see that they were talking about him,” said Ze’ev.

Rom was especially moved to learn that the entire country and much of the world had been praying for him. “He’s shocked that the whole nation is fixated on this. He can’t believe everyone knows him,” his uncle shared. When he stepped off the helicopter and was met with cheers, “he couldn’t believe it.”

Rom’s heroism began even before he was taken hostage. On October 7, he tried to help others escape the Nova festival massacre. “He saved people, saw horrors, ran from bullets,” Ze’ev recalled. “He had no place to escape, so he jumped from place to place for hours. Everywhere he went, there were bullets.”

And even in captivity, Rom never asked, “Why not me?” When he heard about other hostages being released like Avera Mengistu and Edan Alexander he rejoiced. “That’s who he is,” said Ze’ev. “He thinks of others first. Even now, he tells his mother, ‘Don’t worry, everything will be fine.’”

Rom Braslavski’s return is not just a story of survival it is a story of extraordinary faith, selflessness, and resilience in the face of unimaginable cruelty.

Israel celebrates his homecoming and continues to fight for those still waiting to return. Share his story and subscribe to our newsletter for more.