What I Told Myself Every Day as a Hostage in Gaza | Andrey Kozlov

On October 7, Andrey Kozlov was working security at the Nova festival, just 13 months after moving to Israel alone from Russia. He ran for hours under fire, tore off his security shirt on a barbed wire fence minutes before he was caught, and was driven into Gaza by a terrorist he thought was rescuing him. For eight months he was held in eight different houses, including inside a family's apartment, until the IDF rescued him with Shlomi Ziv and Almog Meir Jan on June 8, 2024. Andrey shares the hunger, the threats, the handmade calendar the hostages prayed over, the moment he saw his mother again, and the art he now makes from what he lived through.

Timestamps:
0:00 Andrey Kozlov's New Life in Israel and Working Security at Nova
2:20 Rockets Over the Nova Festival
4:59 Trapped as the Terrorists Close In
7:18 Running Through the Woods
9:26 Escaping in a Stranger's Car
11:33 Meeting the Families of the Friends in the Car
15:22 Hiding Behind the Cars and the Torn Security Shirt
19:22 Face to Face With a Terrorist and the Cliff
25:37 Meeting Shlomi and the Terrorist in Green
28:30 Forced to Drive Into Gaza
34:46 Tied Up in a House in Gaza
41:27 Almog Arrives and the Threat to Kill Them on Camera
44:47 "We Want an Exchange"
48:06 Alex Lobanov, Eight Houses and Going Hungry
52:00 What the Captors Told Them About October 7
56:27 Al Jazeera and Living in a Family's Apartment
1:01:57 486 Bombs in One Night and Talking to God
1:07:33 The Handmade Chess Calendar
1:10:30 June 8: The Rescue
1:16:42 Why the Hostages Never Tried to Escape
1:18:13 The Helicopter Out of Gaza and the Real Heroes
1:24:37 Landing in Israel and Reuniting With Family
1:32:02 Alex Lobanov's Fate and a Message to Hostage Families
1:37:23 Life After the Rescue and the Art Born in Gaza
1:42:57 Meeting Trump, Tomer Peretz and an Exhibit for the Hostages
1:49:02 A Message to Anti-Israel Protesters
1:50:44 "Why Me?" A Message to Those Who Prayed