Hostage survivor Avinatan Or revealed new details last night (Monday) about his attempt to escape captivity in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking at a conference in Washington, he said he spent weeks digging until he managed to breach the outer layer of the tunnel and saw the stars in the sky - but was eventually caught and punished by the captors, who tied him to a chair and beat him for days.

“I tried to escape. I dug for weeks. I forced myself to work to change my fate. One night I got out, I saw the stars in the sky. I wrote the word ‘hostage’ on a sandbag. But Hamas captors found out and beat me for days,” Or said.

He added that he was held alone in captivity and, over the past year, was shackled to bars inside a cage about 1.8 meters high and only slightly longer than the mattress he slept on.

“I’m alive, and because I’m alive, I have a responsibility - a responsibility to speak about patience, humanity, and complexity. A responsibility to distinguish between good and evil, between right and wrong, and to maintain moral clarity. A responsibility to remind ourselves that division destroys us, and that we must look for what unites us, not what tears us apart.”

Alongside Or, his partner and fellow captivity survivor Noa Argamani also spoke at the conference, as did former hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Eviatar David.

Gilboa-Dalal said: “Before they took me down to the tunnels, I managed to hear the radio for a moment. I heard what was happening in Israel and around the world - all the love and support from Jewish communities in America and across the globe. You prayed for me and for all the other hostages to return home safely as soon as possible. You gave me hope and strength.”

Eviatar David told the audience: “Our new journey is only beginning - a journey of healing and coping together with our families and amazing people like you who support us. We will recover, rebuild, and emerge stronger than ever.”

“During our captivity, our families fought every day. They went everywhere, called our names, demanded our return. Their love and strength reached us, even from afar. And today, thanks to them - and thanks to many of you - we are home.”

More than 2,000 attendees rose to their feet in a long-standing ovation as the four survivors walked onto the stage.