Rom Braslavsky, freed from Hamas captivity, said in a new statement that he felt every minute in captivity was a test from God, and that he is proud to have passed it. The quote follows his earlier account tonight describing harsh living conditions in a sealed tent.
Rom Braslavsky, freed from Hamas captivity after 738 days, issued a new statement tonight (Sunday) saying he felt every minute in captivity was a test from God. "I am prouder of nothing than that I passed the test and made the Father in Heaven proud of me," he said. The statement adds a religious dimension to his narrative, following his earlier accounts this evening of harsh living conditions.
Earlier tonight (17:54 Jerusalem), Braslavsky gave a series of interviews and statements. He first described learning of his captor's death and said it lifted a weight from his heart (v2). He then disclosed experiencing clinical death multiple times during torture (v3). In a separate interview, he described being held in a sealed, stinking tent, saying he "lived like a dog" (v4). Shortly after, he said he embraced religion during captivity, constructing a daily prayer and committing to observe Shabbat (v5). At 23:01 Jerusalem, The Zioneer published a bulletin summarizing the tent conditions. The new statement expands on the religious turn, framing his survival as a divine test.
The Zioneer has previously reported on Braslavsky's ongoing struggle with PTSD (Jul 2), his guard's threat to kill him minutes before release (Jun 10), and his meeting with President Trump at the White House (Jun 11). These reports provide context for his recovery and public statements.
The statement is Braslavsky's personal account and has not been independently verified. No further details were provided about the timing or circumstances of the religious test, and it remains unclear whether other freed hostages share similar experiences.
7 developments
- DevelopingFreed hostage Rom Braslavsky recalls first moments after rescue: 'Just wanted to see the sky'
- DevelopingFreed hostage Rom Braslavsky says guard threatened to kill him minutes before release
- DevelopingFreed hostage Rom Braslavsky tells rally: '1,000 days for you, an eternity for me'
- StrongFreed hostage Rom Braslavsky says only now he can say '100 percent that I won'
Source and signal
- Internal intake