Former hostage Rom Braslavski responded Tuesday with raw emotion to the news that the IDF had killed Talal Abdel al-Al, known as Abu Yousef, the terrorist who commanded the cell that held him captive in Gaza for an entire year, calling the moment a personal closing of the circle after the abuse he endured.
Braslavski, who was rescued nearly a year ago from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, responded to news of the elimination in an Instagram story, sharing his raw emotions alongside a photo of the slain terrorist and recounting to his followers the horrors he experienced under the man's direct command, a figure who came to symbolize evil for him during his darkest days in captivity.
Braslavski opened with an emotional message of thanks to the IDF and Israel's security forces for swiftly closing the circle and removing the terrorist from the stage. Thank you to the IDF, to the Shin Bet, to the security forces and to our very heroic soldiers, Braslavski wrote. You avenged my vengeance. Only now can I say with one hundred percent certainty, I won.
He went on to describe directly the man who stood over him in captivity, identifying the commander by name and detailing the abuse he suffered. He wrote that this was the man who weighed 100 kilograms and jumped on his neck while he was malnourished, describing the face, the hand, as belonging to the same man who forced him, while bound hand and foot and covered in bruises, close to death, to open his mouth so the commander could spit into it.
Braslavski continued, laying out the chain of command and the terrorist's direct responsibility for his suffering throughout the year he was held. He identified the man as the commander who oversaw the cell that held him captive for the full year, and as the one who gave the order to bind and abuse him. He stated plainly that under this man's instruction, and at times by his own hands, he was tortured and nearly killed on several occasions.
Braslavski closed his message with a pointed, mocking message directed at the now dead commander, recalling a taunt the terrorist had made to him in captivity about not fearing Israel's security services. He wrote that he remembered being told to pass along a message to the Shin Bet, that the commander wasn't afraid of them. The message has been delivered, he wrote, telling the commander to enjoy hell.
The elimination represents another step in Israel's sustained effort by its security forces to hold accountable those who took part in the October 7 massacre, the abductions, and the abuse of Israeli hostages.
