Snatched from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak during Hamas’s unprovoked attack on October 7, 2023, Luis Har was held with four other hostages in a tiny second-floor apartment in Gaza. There, the father of four became an unwilling chef for his five terrorist guards.

“I prepared the food. I cooked. In the beginning, there were a lot of products for cooking. We had a lot of eggs. I’d make shakshuka. I’d make omelets. I’d make salads and soups using tomatoes and beans and whatever else they gave me,” Har told The New Post in an exclusive interview.

The terrorists would take their portions elsewhere to eat, leaving the hostages under constant armed watch as they starved. But, as weeks turned to months, the food situation grew desperate. First eggs disappeared, then bread became scarce.

As hostages were being being released as part of brief ceasefire in November of that year, only Har and fellow hostage Fernando Marman remained behind. With just one liter of water to share daily, the two men split a single pita bread daily and resorted to hiding their meager rations.

“We were eating a little piece of the pita at a time so there would be enough to last all day,” he recalled. “Otherwise one of the terrorists would just walk in, and if there was just one pita he’d take it. We started hiding that one pita under a pillow.”

Hamas’ deliberate starvation took a brutal toll. Har shed 35 pounds during his 129-day ordeal. Other released hostages have reported similar malnourishment, with Israel’s Health Ministry noting some captives lost up to 40% of their body weight.

“Your body learns what to do,” Har explained. “When you don’t eat enough, when you don’t drink enough, your body does everything slowly. You move slowly. You talk slowly. You do everything slowly to stay alive.”

Hunger pains were further compounded by filthy conditions. The hostages shared a single bucket of cold water for “showers” every two weeks. They never changed clothes or brushed their teeth during their entire captivity.

Of course, the threat of death loomed constantly.

“We would sleep but with one eye open. We knew all the time, these are Hamas, and if someone tells them to kill us, they’ll do it.”

The 72-year-old was eventual rescued along with Fernando during a daring IDF military operation in Rafah on Feb 12, 2023. Now touring North America to share his story, Har fights to keep attention on the roughly two dozen hostages believed still alive in Gaza.

“I’m just trying to keep the hope alive for the families,” he said. “I try to tell the truth about what happened to me.”