October 7 · Personal story
Louis Har
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Clara Marman’s home in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, while visiting
Current outcome
Rescued alive · February 12, 2024
Rescued from Rafah in Operation Golden Hand, a joint IDF, ISA, and Israel Police operation.
01
Life before October 7
Louis Har was born in Argentina and worked in accounting. After emigrating to Israel in 1971, he made his home at Kibbutz Urim. He loved folk dancing, musical theater and cooking, and was the father of four and grandfather of ten. On October 6, 2023, he stayed at the Nir Yitzhak home of his partner, Clara Marman, where they were hosting her relatives for the holiday.
02
October 7
The first alarms seemed routine to Louis: he expected to leave the safe room after a few minutes. He and Clara watched reports on television, then heard attackers inside the house. He messaged his daughter Rinat that terrorists had entered a neighboring home. At 10:19, he told her they were locked inside and could hear shouting outside; at 11:03, he reported that the attackers were in the house. A security camera recorded the family being taken away in a vehicle at 11:22.
03
Captivity
Har said the five were taken through a tunnel before reaching Rafah, where guards controlled even routine movement. In their later room, he cooked for the group several times; as supplies dwindled, he sometimes shared a pita with Fernando. He said he lost about 16 kilograms. At night, his niece asked for stories. A folk dancer and musical-theater actor, Har reached back to his own life for material. He recalled a show where a dancer’s shoe flew off and landed in the audience; everyone laughed. When despair returned, he and the others imagined traveling to Argentina together.
04
Return
In the early hours of February 12, 2024, an explosion shook the room and gunfire followed. Louis began crawling toward the stairs, but Fernando called him back. A rescuer pushed his head down and identified himself as an Israeli soldier who had come to take them home. The two were rescued from Rafah in Operation Golden Hand and flown to Sheba for medical examination and reunion with their relatives.
05
After the rescue
In an August 2024 interview, Louis described recovery as uneven: he had less energy, rarely slept and did not yet feel back to normal life. Telling his story and supporting hostage families helped him. He had returned to folk dancing about two weeks after rescue. He also described moments when his breathing tightened and he felt back in Gaza; these were becoming less frequent. In testimony published in February 2026, he described turning hope — tikva in Hebrew — into a sculpture in Hostage Square.