October 7 · Personal story
Bar Kupershtein
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Nova music festival near Re’im
Current outcome
Released alive · October 13, 2025
Released alive on October 13, 2025 after 738 days in captivity.
01
Life before October 7
Bar Kupershtein trained as a medic and volunteered with Yedidim. After his father Tal was seriously injured in a road accident, Bar lived with his grandparents Michael and Faina and became a main source of support for his family. He decided to work in security at Nova to help with their financial difficulties.
02
October 7
On October 7, 2023, Bar volunteered as a medic at Nova and helped wounded people. He joined a police command post, then fled after an RPG was fired toward it. He was captured while leaving the area. His family learned he had been taken from a video they received around 12:30.
03
In captivity
Bar said he was held in a tunnel with five other hostages in a space no bigger than a mattress, without sunlight, with little food and regular beatings. The men learned Arabic, while captors tried to persuade them to convert; they resisted and insisted on Friday-night blessings. After beatings, they sat together and promised not to let their captors defeat them. Bar said he clung to the belief that he was in God’s hands.
04
Return
Bar was released alive on October 13, 2025, after 738 days in captivity, alongside 19 other hostages under the ceasefire and release agreement. His family’s long campaign for his return had included his father Tal working with a physical therapist to regain his speech so he could advocate for his son.
05
Life after return
In a Reuters interview published on November 10, 2025, Bar described the faith that sustained him and his bond with the men held alongside him. He held up a bracelet bearing the family’s slogan about being in God’s hands. After returning, he learned that his mother Julie had used the same words when a guard telephoned her and threatened him. His own testimony connected what he had told himself underground with his mother’s effort to protect him from afar.