Ariel and his brother David, who were among the longest-living Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, began a media tour of Fuente Latina this month.
Ariel Cuneo planned to escape every day while in Hamas captivity, the former hostage said in his first official statement to the media on Thursday.
“In captivity, I planned every day to escape, but I knew that if I got out, I would be lynched in the street,” he said.
“Even if I somehow survived and returned home, I was afraid that I would later find out that my brother or girlfriend had been killed because of my escape.”
Ariel and his brother David, who were among the longest-living Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, began a media tour in Fuente Latina this month that began with the duo meeting with the Argentine president. Javier Miley In Buenos Aires.
The Cuneo family was the largest family taken hostage, as the terrorist organization kidnapped eight members of the Argentine-Israeli family.
Frommer’s Gaza hostages David and Ariel Cuneo meet with Argentine President Javier Miley in Buenos Aires. (Credit: Fuente Latina)
Ariel explained how, as he watched his brother Eitan’s house burn from the window of his safe room during the Hamas attack, he sent a message to his family’s WhatsApp group saying: “This is where the nightmare begins.”
Erbil said that when he and his partner, Erbil Yehud, were kidnapped, they fell off the terrorist’s bike several times, and their kidnappers were forced to prevent their execution by a mob celebrating the attack inside Gaza.
Ariel saw terrorists hiding weapons in UNRWA bags at humanitarian sites
While in captivity, Ariel reported that he was held above ground, in civilian buildings. He saw weapons stored in UNRWA bags and in humanitarian areas where Hamas knew the IDF would not attack them.
“My captors were convincing me to convert to Islam, saying it was a pity that I would die and go to hell as a Jew, instead of going to heaven as a Muslim,” Ariel recalls.
David was detained inside Hamas tunnels and spent time with Yarden Bibas. During his captivity, he met Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Both David and Ariel were held separately throughout their captivity, and received no information about any of their family members.