Israeli Survivor Bar Kupershtein Recounts Hamas Torture and Order to Dig His Own Grave

Israeli hostage survivor Bar Kupershtein says Hamas terrorists ordered him to dig his own grave for a propaganda video. He refused.

In an interview published by The Telegraph on October 13, 2026, the 24-year-old described losing about 29 kilograms during captivity and enduring abuse that left him struggling to stand. His account details how his captors controlled food, information and the messages hostages were permitted to send home.

Kupershtein was abducted from the Nova music festival during the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, 2023. He was released on October 13, 2025, after 738 days in Gaza.

Forced Statements for the Camera

Kupershtein told The Telegraph that his captors demanded praise for Hamas on camera while telling the hostages their government had abandoned them and wanted them dead.

He explained his reason for cooperating with filmed statements in a separate CNN interview in November 2025: he wanted his family to know he was alive.

Hamas had released footage of Kupershtein and fellow hostage Maxim Herkin in April 2025. Speaking after his release, Kupershtein said the words his captors instructed him to deliver mattered less to him than giving his relatives a sign of life.

Hunger and Repeated Beatings Underground

Held mostly underground with five other hostages, Kupershtein described dirty drinking water, food sometimes containing maggots and showers only once a month. The men slept on thin mattresses beside a hole used as a toilet.

His descriptions of physical abuse extend across several interviews. In testimony to Israel's Kan broadcaster, reported by Israel National News, he said captors tied his legs to a stick and beat the soles of his feet, breaking several toes. He said he could not walk for a month.

He also described days without food and interrogations at gunpoint. During one assault, he feared his captors were about to amputate his legs.

Captured While Helping Others

Kupershtein was working at Nova when the attack began. Accounts from survivors, relayed by his family and reported by The Times of Israel, described him treating wounded people rather than escaping. His relatives later identified him in footage showing him bound on the ground.

He told CNN that leaving people he could have helped would have been impossible to live with. Asked about being called a hero, he said: "I just did my job."

That sense of responsibility preceded captivity. Once underground, he faced a different struggle: finding ways to endure days when he was blindfolded and forbidden from speaking. He told CNN that counting the days became one of the few activities available to him.

Faith and Support Between Hostages

In a November 2025 Reuters interview, Kupershtein credited faith and solidarity with helping him survive. After beatings, the hostages embraced and encouraged one another. They continued reciting Friday evening blessings.

He also recalled a guard ordering the hostages to choose which three would be killed. The threat was not carried out.

A source in Hamas' armed wing denied abuse in response to that Reuters report.

The Meaning of Everyday Freedom

A year after his release, Kupershtein told The Telegraph that choosing when to eat and shower had acquired new significance. Initially, he sometimes showered five times a day.

Returning home did not immediately end the difficulties. In his earlier CNN interview, he described sleepless nights and troubling thoughts, while emphasizing the importance of surrounding himself with people who loved and supported him.

He was determined to spend time with his family, find room for humor and look ahead.