Luis Har is a former Israeli hostage and the author of Rescued: The Hope That Kept Me Alive in Captivity. Taken from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on October 7, 2023, he spent 129 days in captivity in Gaza before Israeli commandos brought him home on February 12, 2024.
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Before October 7
Luis grew up in Argentina and chose to build his life in Israel. By his own description, he was a private family man on a kibbutz in southern Israel, with no public profile at all.
Captivity and rescue
On the morning of October 7, Luis was at the Nir Yitzhak home of his partner, Clara Marman, with her brother Fernando, her sister Gabriela and her niece Mia. Hamas terrorists broke into the safe room and took all five into Gaza. Clara, Gabriela and Mia were freed in a hostage deal weeks later. Luis and Fernando remained captive until Israeli special forces, working with the Shin Bet, rescued them from Rafah in an overnight operation.
Since his rescue
Luis now shares his testimony in Israel and abroad, including at commemorations in Guatemala and with students at the Ramaz School in New York. He also visits wounded soldiers in hospital, supports their mothers and helps organize meals for troops.
Why this book
Rescued is Luis's own account, from his childhood through his months in Gaza and his return home. The book grew out of his wish to keep what happened from fading, because he believes the mind protects itself by letting the hardest memories go. As he told JNS, "Once it is written down, it becomes evidence."
In the press
- Interview with Luis Har on the third anniversary of October 7, JNS, October 6, 2026
- Luis Har on telling stories to endure captivity, NPR, April 5, 2024
- Luis Har speaks to upper school students, The Ramaz School, April 2025
