‘I’ve been in hell’: Former Hamas hostage gives talk in Henderson

As Yair Horn spoke, all eyes from those who came to hear his talk Friday night at Congregation Ner Tamid in Henderson were fixated on him.

Close to 150 people showed up to the congregation’s social hall for Horn’s presentation because they, it seemed, didn’t want to look away from Horn as he described the horrors of what he endured as a former Hamas hostage.

“I do this because it is my responsibility,” said Horn, an Israeli-Argentinian who was kidnapped by members of the Hamas terrorist group on Oct. 7, 2023, at his home in the Kibbutz Nir Oz community of Israel.

Horn spent nearly 500 days in captivity, losing about 70 pounds while being housed in a cell in a set of underground tunnels.

“Sharing what I went through also gives me a little bit of relief, but it is not much,” Horn said. “You can imagine what it was like being down in the earth, just in tunnels. I try to smile and joke about it, but the reality is that I’ve been in hell.”

In all, Horn, 47, was held captive for 498 days, sometimes, he said, being allowed to shower only once every month or two. Eitan Horn, Horn’s younger brother, was held hostage for just over two years before being freed.

Some days, Horn said, he would receive only one small plastic bottle of water to drink and had only “the memory” of food.

He said his captors told him and the other hostages that their families didn’t care about them and that they would likely spend a decade or longer in captivity.

“You’re stripped of your basic human rights,” Horn said. “You just think about your family and friends and you just keep on going. You hope that maybe one day you’ll get your freedom back.”

A range of emotions

As Horn talked Friday, as a guest of the congregation, attendees surrounded him in a semi-circle, an almost physical embrace. They listened intently as he went through a range of emotions, from tears to laughter to, at times, deep breaths.

He joked about being able to lose weight and stop smoking because of his kidnapping. He lightheartedly said that he’s an eligible bachelor who’s now more fit than when he was captured and that the actor Jason Statham would be a great person to play his role in any future movie about his ordeal.

Hamas terrorists kidnapped Horn and about 250 other people during the group’s cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and killed more than 1,200 people.

He was released Feb. 15. Horn said his message is one of hope, though he understands that his experiences as a hostage will stay with him forever.

“I didn’t see sunlight for almost 500 days,” he said. “I didn’t have fresh air to breathe. We were just bargaining chips, not humans. I realized after my release that so many people, not just the Jewish people, helped my family. I’m thankful for all that support and I believe we’ll need, as people of Israel, that support in the future.”

At different times during his talk, Horn became emotional, though he explained that was normal for him. He’s still working through the grief of losing friends.

When he was released, close to 50 hostages remained behind, though not all were still alive.

On the day he and his brother were kidnapped, they had retreated to a “safe room” in his home, though it was more of a bomb shelter space and the door didn’t lock.

Kidnappers were able, he said, to force their way in. His brother, Horn said, was nearly killed when a bullet zoomed mere inches past his head at one point.

Horn said the Hamas terrorists wore Israeli Defense Forces uniforms to get access to his community that day. Horn’s talk was a part of the congregation’s Shabbat services, which included music and prayer.

An important visit

Congregation Ner Tamid Rabbi-Cantor Jessica Hutchings called Horn’s visit to Las Vegas important.

“It’s our job to hear the story and it helps us to learn for the future,” Hutchings said. “Keeping his story relevant and visible in the community is really necessary, I think. News moves fast in the world now and we have to be reminded of what’s important.”

Though she isn’t a member at the Henderson congregation, Irene Hochman of Las Vegas attended Horn’s talk and said she believed it was powerful for listeners to hear from a person who had gone through such hardship.

Hochman said her parents survived the Holocaust.

“The fact he can still tell jokes, that’s hard,” said Hochman, who has dual United States and Israeli citizenship. “I’ve heard worse than what he told. He’s not half showing what he really feels inside. When you hear about someone going through something like that, it’s important because it makes you feel like you can overcome, too.”

For now, Horn said he will continue to tell his story, though he continues to battle through injuries both seen and unseen from his time as a prisoner.

“I didn’t see sunlight for almost 500 days,” he said. “I didn’t have fresh air to breathe, but I’m here now and I am a positive man.”

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X. The Associated Press contributed to this story.