In June 2024, Andrey Kozlov was released from captivity in Gaza after spending months as a hostage of Hamas, following a special operation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Kozlov, a civilian taken from Israel during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, now seeks to process and narrate his experience through art. He hopes to exhibit these works in both Israel and the United States. Kozlov’s story emerges amid ongoing efforts by Israeli authorities to repatriate civilians and citizens abducted during the October 7 attacks, which marked the largest antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust, resulting in over 1,200 deaths and more than 250 hostages taken into Gaza by Hamas and other militant factions. According to statements from the IDF and verified by international media, Kozlov, like many hostages, was held for months in harsh conditions, reportedly underground and denied contact with the outside world, before his liberation was secured as part of Israel’s broader military campaign against Hamas’s infrastructure in Gaza. Confirmation of Kozlov’s rescue was provided by the Israeli government and reported by reputable outlets including the Associated Press, Reuters, and Israel’s public broadcasting corporation, citing official IDF briefings in June 2024.
During captivity, Kozlov turned to drawing as a way to endure psychological stress and bear witness to his ordeal. According to accounts from IDF spokespeople and firsthand statements provided by recently freed hostages, limited access to materials and continuous confinement made even the act of drawing an act of quiet defiance. Kozlov’s early sketches, made with improvised charcoal and scraps of paper, depicted both scenes from within his cell and impressions of the outside world remembered from before his abduction. Following his release, Kozlov has begun to elaborate on these sketches into larger, more detailed works, blending personal testimony with universal themes of suffering, hope, and the resilience of the human spirit.
Kozlov’s account, corroborated by interviews with medical professionals treating returned hostages, is consistent with reports from international humanitarian observers regarding the conditions in which hostages have been held by Hamas. Multiple sources, including the Israeli Health Ministry and international monitoring organizations, detail widespread deprivation, including insufficient access to food, medical care, and sunlight. Survivors have exhibited symptoms of prolonged confinement and trauma. The International Committee of the Red Cross and United Nations agencies have repeatedly condemned Hamas for denying hostages external contact and demanded full compliance with international humanitarian law—demands that have not been met as of yet. Throughout, Israel’s political and military leadership has emphasized a non-negotiable commitment to return all citizens, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz making repeated public declarations to that effect and crediting the IDF’s special operations units with developing and executing complex rescue missions under extreme risk.
The abduction, prolonged captivity, and ultimately the return of hostages like Kozlov have become emblematic of Israel’s larger struggle against the Iranian-sponsored terror network that includes Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and allied militias in Syria and Iraq. The Hamas operation of October 7, 2023—planned, financed, and armed with active support from Tehran—was carried out with the explicit aim of inflicting mass civilian casualties, provoking further conflict, and undermining Israel’s security. Israeli and Western intelligence assessments repeatedly warn that hostage-taking is central to Hamas’s broader war strategy, which seeks to challenge Israel’s deterrence, weaken its political stability, and extract political concessions. U.S. and European governments continue to assert Israel’s right to self-defense in line with the UN Charter, characterizing Hamas as a terrorist organization and condemning the use of civilians as bargaining chips.
Since the outbreak of hostilities, Israeli forces have conducted targeted operations to recover hostages, disrupt militant networks, and dismantle the tunnel system beneath Gaza’s urban centers. These missions—some successful, others ongoing—reflect the priority accorded by the Israeli public and government to the safety of its citizens, as well as the inherent risks involved in such high-stakes procedures. Global media have documented the challenges facing Israeli commanders, especially the deliberate use of human shields by Hamas and the embedment of military assets within civilian infrastructure. These methods, documented by Western security analysts and noted in reports from groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, complicate military operations and contribute to civilian hardship in the war zone.
The experience of captivity, and the transition back to civilian life, is a source of ongoing trauma and adaptation for returned hostages and their families. Israeli trauma specialists, cited by the Ministry of Health and academic researchers, have emphasized the value of creative expression—such as drawing and painting—as therapeutic tools for processing memory and conveying experiences that are difficult to express through words alone. Kozlov’s engagement with art follows a tradition found among survivors of violence and abuse worldwide, where visual narrative can play a role in individual recovery as well as public commemoration. In interviews upon his return, Kozlov has spoken about the role of art in maintaining hope, bearing witness, and contributing to the communal memory of a society under attack.
Kozlov’s ambition to exhibit his work in New York, as well as Israel, represents an effort to broaden awareness among international audiences of the realities faced by Israeli civilians during the war with Hamas. His art, now being reviewed by curators and considered by institutions in both countries, is positioned as both personal testimony and a broader cultural contribution to understanding asymmetric warfare, the use of terror, and the continuing threat posed by Iranian-backed groups to regional stability and democratic values. Israeli and American leaders have repeatedly stressed that the return of hostages is not solely a national issue but a matter of international moral concern, given the targeting of civilians and foreign nationals and the open repudiation of humanitarian norms by Hamas.
The October 7 massacre and subsequent hostage crisis have catalyzed significant public mobilization in Israel, galvanizing empathy, demands for accountability, and broad support for ongoing IDF operations. Families of hostages have maintained continuous advocacy, engaging with Western governments, international legal authorities, and global media to keep pressure on Hamas and its backers and ensure that the plight of remaining captives is never forgotten. Humanitarian agencies, while calling for increased protection of all civilians in Gaza, have also continued to document and denounce patterns of abuse inflicted on hostages, distinct from casualties resulting from active combat. Western analysts and editorial boards have repeatedly reiterated the legal and moral distinction between civilians abducted and unlawfully held by terror groups, and militants or prisoners released in exchange—underscoring the asymmetry in both means and intentions between Israel and Hamas.
As Kozlov’s case highlights, the regional crisis cannot be understood in isolation from the policies of the Iranian regime and its longstanding campaign to use proxy forces against Israel and the broader West. The “axis of resistance,” as described in intelligence briefings by U.S. and Israeli sources, remains committed to undermining regional peace and normalization efforts, including the Abraham Accords and ongoing diplomatic outreach between Israel and Sunni Arab states. Western support, including diplomatic backing, advanced defense systems, and technological cooperation, remains crucial for Israel as it continues to respond to threats on multiple fronts, including periodic escalations along the Lebanese and Syrian borders and missile attacks traced to Iranian-aligned militias across the theater.
In the immediate term, Kozlov’s recovery and reintegration symbolize both the vulnerability of individuals in contemporary conflict and the resilience of Israeli society. His artwork serves as documentation of a broader story: the individual’s struggle for dignity and meaning in the face of deliberate terror, and the determination of a nation to safeguard its people and transmit their stories to the world. As Israeli and international audiences anticipate Kozlov’s upcoming exhibitions, his story underscores an enduring lesson of conflict: that bearing witness—whether through art, testimony, or rigorous journalistic reporting—is essential to justice, memory, and resistance against the erosion of humanitarian norms. The struggle to free hostages remains ongoing, with families, organizations, and the State of Israel prioritizing every effort toward their safe return, while bearing in mind the ultimate stakes for Israel, its allies, and free societies everywhere. Western governments and international observers must continue to demand accountability from Hamas and its sponsors, recognizing the taking of hostages as a grave violation of international law and affirming the right of democracies to defend their citizens with proportional and lawful means. Kozlov’s journey from captivity to artistic expression offers a powerful reminder of both the personal and political dimensions of the conflict, rooted in the evidence of history and the universal values of freedom and dignity.
