You freed me from Hamas, President Trump. Please save my brother, too.

I was released just days ago, on Saturday, after 498 days in captivity. While my body lies in Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, my heart and soul remain trapped in Gaza. As long as my brother Eitan and the other hostages are held captive there, I too remain a hostage. The little strength I have left, I dedicate entirely to fighting for their return before it’s too late.

HAMAS FREES 3 MORE HOSTAGES IN EXCHANGE FOR MORE THAN 300 PRISONERS AS PART OF CEASE-FIRE DEAL WITH ISRAEL

As I write these words, four more hostages from my own kibbutz are being returned to Israel – in coffins. Oded Lifshitz, Shiri Bibas and her two precious children, Ariel and baby Kfir, who wasn’t even one year old when he was kidnapped. They were taken alive on October 7, 2023, and now their families must bury them. What kind of world do we live in where terrorists murder an innocent baby, his young brother, their mother, and an elderly man? As these families lay their loved ones to rest, I am tormented by a single thought: will my brother Eitan be next? Will more families receive their loved ones in coffins? We cannot let this happen. Not one more hostage should return this way.

Oct. 7, 2023, began like any other peaceful Shabbat in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Like many other Argentinian immigrants who found a new life in Israel, I had built my world in this small, tight-knit community. My younger brother Eitan had come to spend the weekend with me in the kibbutz. None of us could have imagined the horror that would unfold – a day when our small community would be devastated, with a quarter of our people either murdered or kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.

They took me away on a motorcycle, subjecting me to such severe physical violence that I was left bleeding and wounded. For a month, I didn’t know if Eitan was alive or dead. When they finally brought us together, we stayed side by side until the day of my release – a moment that tears at my heart every second of every day.

The conditions of our captivity were beyond anything humans should endure. The physical torture was unbearable, especially in those first months. But it was the psychological torture that almost broke us – the constant fear that each breath could be our last, that any word or movement could trigger our captors’ violence. We were starved, interrogated, abused. I survived by focusing only on making it through one more day, then another.

I know with certainty that those still held captive don’t have much time left. I saw with my own eyes how sick some of them are – they won’t survive many more days without medical care. My brother Eitan is seriously ill with a condition requiring medication he isn’t receiving. He has severe infections and dangerous fevers. Every hour that passes puts their lives at greater risk. Tragically, Eitan and dozens of others are not included in the current phase of releases that brought me home.

To President Trump, who secured my freedom: Though we’ve never met, I will forever owe you my life. History will remember you as the leader who took decisive action when it mattered most, who upheld the sacred value of human life.

To President Trump, who secured my freedom: Though we’ve never met, I will forever owe you my life. History will remember you as the leader who took decisive action when it mattered most, who upheld the sacred value of human life. Everything I do from this point forward will be thanks to your efforts. But there is urgent work still to be done. I beg you to use your influence once again to bring home those who remain. We need your help now more than ever.

I promised those I left behind that I would do everything in my power to secure their release.

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The world must understand – people are dying in those tunnels right now. My brother is dying in those tunnels right now. We need action today, not tomorrow. Bring back those who are still alive before it’s too late. Bring back those who have died, so their families can have closure and mourn properly. 

To my brother Eitan: hold on. Just as you gave me strength during our darkest days together, I will not rest until you and every other hostage return home.

As long as hostages remain in Gaza, none of us is truly free.