“I am profoundly moved and deeply grateful to share that, just moments ago, our colleague, Avinatan Or, was released to the Red Cross in Gaza,” Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang wrote to employees on Monday. “After two unimaginable years in Hamas captivity, Avinatan has come home.”

The release of Avinatan Or, a 32-year-old electrical engineer at Nvidia’s Tel Aviv research center, marked one of the most emotional moments for the company since the October 7 attacks. Or was kidnapped from the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Reim along with his partner, Noa Argamani, who was freed in a military rescue operation in June. His freedom comes 738 days after he was taken hostage and as part of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.

In his letter to Nvidia’s global staff, Huang paid tribute to Or’s mother, Ditza, praising her “strength, courage, and unwavering hope,” which he said “have inspired us all.” He noted that Nvidia employees in Israel “stood with her in vigil, united in determination that Avinatan would return home safely. That unity reflected the very best of who we are.”

Or joined Nvidia in 2022 after earning a degree in electrical engineering from Ben-Gurion University. He worked as a DFT engineer in Nvidia’s VLSI group, part of the company’s networking division, a core element of its semiconductor design operations in Israel.

For Nvidia, Or’s release brings closure to a long period of collective anxiety and mourning. “Thousands of NVIDIA employees have served with extraordinary bravery in defense of their communities during the war,” Huang wrote. “Many have faced immense pain, loss, and uncertainty. Some have lost family members or loved ones.”

He cited personal losses that struck close to the company’s Israeli operations. “We lost our colleague, Amit Chayut. Eyal suffered the heartbreaking loss of his daughter, Danielle, and her partner, Noam. We remember them with love, and we hold Eyal and his family close in our thoughts and prayers.”

“The losses to our Jewish, Druze, and Arab families alike have been immense,” Huang continued. “Grief knows no borders, no faiths, no divisions. We mourn together, and we hope together — for peace, understanding, and a future without fear.”

Huang expressed hope that the current ceasefire and hostage releases could signal a broader turning point. “As all hostages return to their families, we witness the close of a painful chapter and the beginning of long-awaited healing for the region,” he wrote.

The letter concluded with words that captured both personal relief and corporate solidarity: “Avinatan — welcome home. Your safe return brings profound relief and joy to the entire NVIDIA family. May this moment mark the first step toward recovery, renewal, and lasting peace — for all who have been touched by this war.”

In December 2023, Nvidia and thousands of its employees raised $15 million to aid civilians in Israel and Gaza affected by the war, the largest humanitarian fundraising effort in the company’s 30-year history. The effort combined $5 million in employee donations with $10 million in matching contributions from Nvidia.