WASHINGTON — Gal Gilboa-Dalal and Ilay David, the older brothers of a pair of friends who have been held captive by the terror group Hamas for over 500 days, refuse to give up hope that their loved ones will return home.
Gilboa-Dalal and David, the brothers of hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Eviater David, were among several speakers who addressed a crowd of attendees at the Washington Hebrew Congregation last Tuesday for a national prayer event.
The night of prayer marked 500 days since Hamas attacked civilians in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, slaughtering around 1,200 people and seizing over 240 others as hostages.
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Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Eviater David are friends who were at the Nova Music Festival when Hamas abducted them and slaughtered over 300 attendees. Gal Gilboa-Dalal is also a Nova Music Festival survivor who managed to escape without being killed or abducted.
“I wish more people understood that October 7 happened from pure evil,” Gal Gilboa-Dalal told The Christian Post as he reflected on the attack during an interview. “There was nothing political about it. It was pure hate.”
On the day of Hamas’ invasion, Gal Gilboa-Dalal met up with his brother at the Nova Music Festival, but they were separated after the attack began. The last time he spoke to his brother, they planned to leave the festival after sirens started going off, warning of rocket fire. The Gilboa-Dalals left in separate cars because Guy wanted to ride with his friends.
“We told each other that we love one another and that we will see each other back at home,” Gal Gilboa-Dalal recalled.
As terrorists stormed the festival grounds, shooting attendees and hunting them down, Gal Gilboa-Dalal ran and hid. It took hours, but he managed to escape, learning later that Hamas had kidnapped his brother after his family found a video of him being taken hostage alongside David.
Ever since Hamas kidnapped their brothers, the pair of older siblings have devoted themselves to advocating for their freedom.
According to Ilay David, something that fills him with hope these days is the sight of the freed hostages embracing their loved ones after days of captivity. For David, the news of former hostages reuniting with their family and friends helps him imagine the day he sees his brother again.
“I can see my parents breathing again,” Ilay David said. “I can imagine that, and it gives me the strength to keep going.”
The thought of what his sibling has likely had to endure in captivity has only fueled David’s determination to ensure his brother’s freedom. He has faith that his brother and Guy Gilboa-Dalal are still alive.
David called on Israeli and international leaders to secure another phase of hostage releases.
“We do not have the privilege of breaking down,” Ilay David said regarding himself and others advocating for the hostages’ return. “We do not have the privilege of collapsing or falling apart.”
“There’s only one thing that matters; there’s only one thing that’s important for us,” he continued. “We have a fight; we have a mission; it’s to bring them back. I honestly don’t care about anything that I’ve had to go through because it’s nothing compared to what they’ve had to go through every single day, every single second.”
Testimony from former hostages who have opened up about their experiences has helped paint a picture of what captivity may look like for the remaining prisoners of Hamas.
Freed hostages such as Aviva Siegel, who was kidnapped alongside her husband Keith on Oct. 7, 2023, said that their captors starved and beat their prisoners.
During the prayer event on Tuesday, former hostages Noa Argamani and Ilana Gritzewsky also addressed the crowd, calling for the safe return of all the remaining hostages. Argamani was rescued during an operation in June 2024, while Gritzewsky was released as part of a deal in November 2023.
While the two women are now free, both have boyfriends who are still captives in Gaza — Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker. Hamas kidnapped Argamani and Or at the Nova festival, while Gritzewsky and her boyfriend were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023.
“My partner Avinatan Or is part of the second stage of this deal,” Argamani told the crowd. “We have to continue to the second stage and make sure all our loved ones return to us.”
Gritzewsky told attendees that she has struggled to heal from her experience because her boyfriend is still a hostage. She recounted some of the abuses she suffered at the hands of her captors, which still haunt her to this day.
As a result of her time in captivity, Gritzewsky lost partial hearing in her left ear and suffered a damaged jaw and a broken pelvis. She also lost 24 pounds. The Mexican-born Israeli said that her captors took away her humanity “piece by piece,” an experience that she said has left her mentally broken.
“In order for me to heal, in order for all of the released hostages to heal, and for the country to start recovering — we need to bring them all home,” Gritzewsky said. “Now.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
