ISTANBUL 

A former Israeli captive has described harrowing moments during Israel’s war on Gaza, saying he fled alongside a Hamas fighter to survive intense Israeli bombardment that caused nearby buildings to collapse “like in an earthquake.”

Eitan Mor, an Israeli soldier who was taken captive during the Oct. 7, 2023 events, told Israel’s Army Radio that he experienced repeated Israeli airstrikes while being held in Gaza, including attacks that nearly buried him alive.

“I was sitting in an apartment with Hamas fighters when an F-16 bombed a building next to us,” Mor said. “It destroyed a multi-story building. The building we were in started collapsing on us. Everyone was screaming. It felt like an earthquake.”

Mor said that during the chaos, one of the Hamas fighters handed him a weapon and instructed him to run.

“He gave me the gun and said, ‘Run behind me,’” Mor recalled.

When asked by the radio host whether he considered shooting the fighter, Mor replied: “Shoot him and then what? What would I do afterward?” suggesting that his survival at that moment depended entirely on staying with him.

Mor said he was later moved to another location, but Israeli bombardment continued.

“While I was still a captive, there was a Hamas fighter in front of me and two behind me. Suddenly, a building next to us in the street was bombed,” he said. “We were all running to save our lives.”

Describing the scene, Mor said debris was falling everywhere as they fled through the streets in the dark.

“I was running behind him, trying not to lose him,” he said. “At that moment, I realized the Israeli army didn’t know where I was. Intelligence had no idea.”

After his release, Mor said an Israeli intelligence officer confirmed this to him.

“He told me, ‘Eitan, we didn’t know anything about you,’” Mor said.

Mor did not specify the exact location or timing of the incident inside Gaza.

Hamas has accused Israel of killing several Israeli hostages in indiscriminate bombardment across the Gaza Strip.

More than 71,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and over 171,000 others injured in the Israeli war since October 2023.

The assault came to a halt under a ceasefire deal on Oct. 10, but Israel has continued its attacks, killing at least 492 people and injuring 1,356 others since the agreement, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Writting by Tarek Chouiref