Bar Avraham Kupershtein
A Hero Who Saved Many Lives and Risked His Own
Bar is the eldest of five brothers and sisters, the supporter of his family and a hero. On 7 October 2023, Bar was abducted to Gaza, 21 years old at the time. He has since been held in captivity by the terrorist organisation Hamas.
On the dark day of 7 October 2023, Bar was working as a security guard at the Nova Music Festival to generate extra income to support his family. Bar’s father, Tal, who worked as a volunteer paramedic for many years, had been called out for an emergency three years earlier. On the way there, he had an accident on his motorcycle. His leg was so badly injured that several operations were necessary as a result. During one of them, he suffered a stroke. Since then, he has been unable to walk and can barely speak. In this situation, son Bar, who had just turned 18, stepped in to help his mother Julie, becoming the de facto family breadwinner. He felt responsible for the family, lovingly taking care of his four younger siblings and working various jobs.
Before he was brutally abducted into Gaza from the site of the Nova Music Festival, Bar spoke on the phone with his grandmother, Faina, and his mother, Julie, about the sirens and missiles. At that point, he still believed that it was a ‘usual rocket attack’, as Israel had experienced many times. He assured his mum and grandmother that all would be good; he would make sure that all visitors would leave the site of the festival, pack his things and make his way home. Half an hour later, at 7am, he stopped answering his phone.
“Being the leader of the security team, Bar felt responsible to stay and help.”
Eyewitnesses reported that Bar stayed behind to assist the injured during the brutal assault until he was taken captive. In a video released by Hamas following his abduction, Bar was seen crammed in the back of a pickup truck, lying on his stomach with his hands cuffed behind his back.
At around 12 noon on that day, the family received a video on Telegram, live from Gaza, showing Bar lying on the floor, completely bound from head to toe, together with four other young men, looking terrified.
On 5 April 2025, another video was sent to the family showing Bar and a fellow-hostage, Maxim Herkin, begging to bring them home, talking about having no fresh air, starvation and losing hope being in a tunnel 30 metres under street level.
Heroic Deeds
In Israel, Bar is seen as a hero. His best friend Din, who worked alongside Bar as a security guard, witnessed his heroic deeds. Din miraculously escaped from the site after a few hours and was the last person to see Bar. He told the family that Bar had initially tried to regulate traffic. After the first car returned to the site with a bleeding girl who had been shot, they understood that something was wrong. Hamas was blocking the cars on the road and shot everybody who tried to escape. More and more wounded appeared, and shots were heard” “everywhere. Bar tried to help them, bandaging the wounds with T-shirts and other clothing lying around, taking all that he could find. He also tried to hide the wounded and did not want to leave them. Not for a second did he think of fleeing or saving his own life.
One father reported that he was talking on the phone to his daughter after she had been shot in her leg. Bar was busy nursing her wounds. When offering to drive to the Nova site, Bar shouted to him over the phone, “Do not come here, it is far too dangerous.” While the shooting was still going on, Din and Bar managed to open the emergency exit in the direction of the village of Patisch. Most of the young people who could save their lives had fled in this direction. When the situation became more dangerous, Bar told Din to get himself to safety. Being the leader of the security team, Bar felt responsible to stay and help others. He saved many lives on that day. In photos, one can see that Bar also joined the police officers who were in the vicinity, hoping that they would have a chance to prevent the worst. 364 people were massacred at the site of the Nova Music Festival on that day.
Bar Kupershtein | Photo: Private
Tal Kupershtein at Hostage Square | Photo: Private
Dvir, Bar’s brother, remarks: “Bar is not just another hostage; he’s my brother, he’s a hero. He’s the one who evacuated the injured under fire, saving lives at the Nova Music Festival. He’s the one who kept going back to save just one more person, and when he needed help, there was no one there to save him.”
On 1 April 2025, Bar turned 23—his second birthday as a hostage in Hamas captivity. Tal Kupershtein, Bar’s father, who has been working hard to improve his impaired speech, invited the public to mark the occasion with the Kupershtein family.
“Bar, we love you and are proud of you. Hang in there—you’re never alone. We will celebrate your birthday at Hostages Square, and I invite everyone to come and mark your birthday with me,” he said on television. “He doesn’t know I can speak, I hope he hears me”, he added.
Birthday Wishes from Vienna
Bar’s aunt, Marianne G, who lives in Vienna, wrote Bar a beautiful letter for his 23rd birthday, which she will give to him as soon as he is freed.
Bar Kupershteins father and his aunt | Photo: Private
“Bar, my dear Bar, today is your 23rd birthday, but instead of seeing you laughing and celebrating, you are not here. Sorry for what you must endure and go through…, sorry that we haven’t managed to get you out of this hell yet…
I would like to tell you that your dream is coming true, and I wish you could see your father, how great he already speaks, how he is already taking his first steps with a lot of effort and motivation to make you proud. How he, your whole family and many friends are tirelessly fighting for you…
Bar, I promise you with God’s help we will get you out of this, I firmly believe in it. I want to promise you for your birthday that we will never give up, if you only knew how many people miss you and want to get to know you. We are fighting and praying with all our strength!”
Together with Bar Kupershtein’s family and all the other families, we hope and pray for the return of all the hostages!
