JERUSALEM, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Nvidia ( NVDA ) CEO Jensen

Huang welcomed Avinatan Or from "two unimaginable years in Hamas

captivity" in Gaza, saying a number of the chip giant's families

had suffered losses during the war.

An electrical engineer at Nvidia ( NVDA ) in Israel, 32-year-old Or was

kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023 along

with 250 others including his girlfriend, Noa Argamani, whose

desperate cries on the back of a motorcycle became one of the

most haunting images of the Hamas attack.

"Avinatan - welcome home. Your safe return brings profound

relief and joy to the entire Nvidia ( NVDA ). We are here for you and for

your family as you begin this next chapter of healing," Huang

wrote in a letter sent to Nvidia ( NVDA ) employees and seen by Reuters.

Or was released on Monday after 738 days in captivity by Hamas,

in a U.S.-brokered deal to end the two-year war in Gaza under

which Israel is now pushing for the return of the bodies of dead

hostages.

Video footage showed Or arriving at Beilinson Hospital near

Tel Aviv after his release, accompanied by his family and by

Argamani, who spent 246 days in Gaza and was rescued by Israeli

soldiers.

Citing testimonies from the hostages and initial medical

reports, Israeli media said Or was starved and lost up to 40% of

his body weight. He was completely isolated and did not see

other hostages.

Huang wrote that "night after night" Nvidia ( NVDA ) employees had

stood in a vigil with Or's mother Ditza. He noted that for two

years, thousands of Nvidia ( NVDA ) employees in Israel served in the

military.

"Many have faced immense pain, loss, and uncertainty. Some

have lost family members or loved ones," he said. "The losses to

our Jewish, Druze, and Arab families alike have been immense."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Or and

four other former hostages at the hospital on Wednesday.

Nvidia ( NVDA ), a leading designer of high-end AI chips, entered Israel

in 2020, and it is planning to expand there. It is located in

Yokne'am, a hub for tech companies near Haifa.