Freed Hamas hostage describes months in Gaza captivity at Pittsburgh remembrance

Andrei Kozlov compared his time being held captive in Gaza for eight months by Hamas terrorists to a blacksmith striking iron with a hammer.

“Imagine that you are between the iron and hammer,” said Kozlov, 29, on Sunday evening to a crowd of people at the Oct. 7 Commemoration held by the Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill. “You can hear some sound of the hammer every five minutes, but you don’t know where it’s supposed to break.

“You just pray that you don’t want to be between iron and hammer every day, and you are not able to control it.

“You’re afraid for every minute of your life.”

On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas militants from Gaza stormed southern Israel. They killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. More than 250 hostages, including Kozlov, were taken. He was held captive in Gaza before being rescued by the Israel Defense Forces in June 2024.

In the war that followed, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Kozlov, a Russian-Israeli, shared his experience of being kidnapped in a commemoration that reflected on the Israelis killed and taken hostage two years ago, but also held hope after last week’s announcement of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release.

“The fact that these people who have been hostages have survived should give us incredible hope, should give us incredible strength,” said Jeff Finkelstein, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh. “Their resilience is astounding.

“And at the same time, I hope people don’t lose sight of the fact that innocent civilians were swept up from their homes early in the morning, from a dance festival, from the roads, and dragged into the Gaza Strip. We can’t forget what happened on Oct. 7, how barbaric it was.”

On the morning of Oct. 7, 2023, Kozlov was working security at the Nova music festival in Israel when Hamas attacked.

Kozlov said he scaled a cliff and ran away. He never expected to be captured.

Kozlov and his fellow hostages faced physical and psychological hardships — he lost about 15 pounds in two months — but he said they had better conditions than some other hostages.

On June 8, 2024, the IDF executed a mission that freed Kozlov and other hostages.

On the helicopter and looking over Gaza, Kozlov said he felt a hurricane of emotions he was unable to control.

“All this time, you’re praying and you imagine how you will be released,” he said. “And then it happens, absolutely unexpectedly.”

On Thursday, both Israel and Hamas conditionally accepted a U.S. proposal for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. President Donald Trump on Sunday headed to Israel for Monday’s planned release of hostages from Gaza. Trump says the ceasefire is the first phase of what is supposed to be a long-term peace agreement.

“I’m very hopeful that the hostages are released, potentially in just the next couple of hours,” Finkelstein said Sunday evening. “But it hasn’t happened.

“So I think for me at least, personally, I’m holding on to the fact that over 1,000 Israelis were killed two years ago, hundreds taken hostage, and we need to remember what happened and all the lives lost while holding this hope that this last 20 or so living hostages can be reunited with their families.”