WASHINGTON — Hamas hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David were forced to watch the release ceremony for several other hostages freed via the recent ceasefire deal with Israel. They even felt sunlight before they were taken back into a tunnel where the terror group has held them captive since October 2023..
Ilan Dalal, the father of Guy Gilboa-Dalal, said during an advocacy event earlier this month that the glimpse of his son at the ceremony last month was the first sign he had received in months that he is still alive.
The father shared details about what his son has endured in captivity during a panel discussion organized by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Defense Forces. He joined other families of hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.
“We have been living for more than 16 months with a deep hole in our hearts,” the father of Guy Gilboa-Dalal told attendees.
“And this has been our life for the past 16 months,” he said. “We’re going from place to place and trying to talk to everybody that’s willing to listen to us, and trying to achieve the goal that all the hostages will be free.”
The event included dozens of family members of the hostages taken captive during Hamas’ terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 people and the abduction of over 240 others from southern Israel. The families shared details of what their loved ones have endured in captivity.
On the day of the terrorist attack, Guy Gilboa-Dalal attended the Nova Music Festival with several friends, later meeting up with his brother, Gal Gilboa-Dalal. After Hamas began its assault, the brothers became separated, with Gal Gilboa-Dalal managing to survive the massacre and evade capture.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.
Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David attempted to hide, but Hamas found them, and the group that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007 has held the friends captive for over 500 days now.
Ilan Dalal called for the release of the remaining hostages to take place “as soon as possible,” stressing that the situation for those held captive by Hamas becomes “worse every day.”
“They are in a very small tunnel,” Ilan Dalal said about the conditions his son and the other hostages have had to endure. “It’s dark most of the time, and they are chained most of the time. They are starved, and they are going through mental and physical abuse on a daily basis.”
Michel Illouz, whose son Guy Illouz succumbed to wounds he sustained after Hamas took him captive at the Nova festival, told attendees that he doesn’t care if his son’s body comes back last if that’s what it takes to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
During his testimony, Michel Illouz played a recording of his last phone call with his son, which took place on the day of Hamas’ attack. Amid the sound of machine gun fire, Guy Illouz repeatedly uttered the phrase “Father, I love you” in Hebrew.
“I remember I told him, ‘Guy, don’t you dare, don’t you try to separate from us, please,'” the father recalled. “And then everything finished.”
Eli Shtivi, another father advocating for the return of his son’s body, also spoke during the event. His son, Idan Shtivi, was killed at the festival, but the news of his death didn’t come out until a year after the attack.
Rising from his seat next to the other panelists, Eli Shtivi described his son as “a good person,” stating that he did not have a gun when Hamas murdered him. The father held up his phone and played a video of Hamas members shooting his son in the head several times before dragging his body to Gaza.
“You go to a party for peace and love, and then the Hamas monster comes,” Eli Shtivi said.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
