Avera Mengistu, 38, was released on Saturday morning as part of the hostage deal, after 3,825 days in captivity, or ten and a half years.
Mengistu was born in Ethiopia in 1986. When he was five he immigrated to Israel with his parents and siblings in Operation Solomon. He grew up in a one-bedroom apartment in Ashkelon alongside nine brothers and sisters. After the death of his older brother, Michael, to whom he was close, Avera began to isolate himself and conduct long walks throughout Israel.
On September 7, 2014, he left his home in Ashkelon with a backpack on his back, and walked towards Zikim beach to the security fence between Israel and Gaza Strip. IDF soldiers asked him to stop, but he continued walking, climbed the high fence, and crossed into Gaza Strip territory. He then sat among Gaza fishermen. The soldiers suspected Avera was an infiltrator from Africa who decided to cross to Gaza, and only after his Israeli ID card was found was his identity discovered.
In mid-January 2023 Hamas released a video of Avera in which he said: "I am the prisoner Avera Mengistu. Until when will I be here? After my painful years here where is the State of Israel? Who will save us from our fate?"
His brother Yaalo then referred to the video and said: "On one hand it looks like him, on the other hand, it doesn't look like him at all."
