Childhood friends Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa Dalal, who were kidnapped together from the Nova music festival on October 7, will speak publicly today for the first time at the Israel Hayom summit in New York. The two spent more than two years in captivity under the Hamas terrorist organization before their release in October.
Two completely contrasting images appear on David’s Instagram profile. In one he is emaciated, severely underweight and on the verge of death, digging what he described as his own grave in Hamas tunnels. In the other he is back in Israel eating a thick hamburger and fries with fellow former captives. These images tell the story of the unimaginable events he endured over two years in captivity. David had gone to the festival with four close friends. Two were murdered, one survived and David and his childhood friend Gilboa Dalal were taken into Gaza.
Evyatar David is expected to speak publicly for the first time at the Israel Hayom summit in New York
On the morning of October 7, as massacres unfolded across southern Israel, David was kidnapped from the Nova festival. While some abductees were taken alone, he was seized together with Gilboa Dalal, his closest friend since the age of one and a half. Their bond began when both arrived at Yael preschool in Kfar Saba, and their families lived near one another. Galia, David’s mother, recalled in an earlier interview with Israel Hayom that the boys climbed on everything, played with toy swords and often fought. From the first day they went to preschool, she said, the two could not be separated. Galia and Merav, Gilboa Dalal’s mother, had to promise that the boys would meet again every afternoon. She said she would bring David to Guy and always stay at the house because the boys would turn the place upside down.
On the eve of October 7, David ate the holiday meal with his family before heading out with friends to the Nova festival near Re’im. His brother Ilay recalled that when rockets began in the morning, the family ran to their shelter and their mother began texting David. The last message arrived at 7:43 a.m. The family then went through hours of fear and uncertainty. At about 2 p.m. they received videos showing David being led away with his hands tied by Hamas terrorists.
Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa Dalal
One moment of proof that David was alive came on the Saturday when former hostages Omer Shem Tov, Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert were released. David and Gilboa Dalal were brought to a Hamas ceremony held for the hostages and watched it from inside a vehicle. They were filmed pleading to secure their release and to bring them home. They remained together for most of their captivity until about a month before their release, when they were separated and later reunited in the hospital.
“A living skeleton buried alive”
Another piece of footage emerged from Hamas tunnels and shook the country. It showed David gaunt and skeletal, digging what he said was his own grave. Doctors who analyzed the footage warned that his condition was life-threatening.
In that video David stated the date, July 28, at noon. He said he had no idea what he was eating, that he barely had water and that he had not eaten for days. He said he had been in a very severe condition for a long time, months without proper food. After the video emerged, his family said he looked like a “living skeleton buried alive” and warned that he had only days to live.
Two completely contrasting images from Evyatar David’s Instagram profile
In mid-October, David received his life back. He returned to his parents, Galia and Avishai, and his siblings Ilay and Ye’ela, who had never stopped fighting for him. Since then he has been trying to rebuild his life, spending time with friends and family. He posted a photo online saying that he had been home for three weeks and was still trying to absorb it all, from hell to the best place in the world.
Two years without giving up hope
For Gilboa Dalal as well, food became a symbol of freedom immediately after his release. Two days after he returned, his family posted a video of him eating his favorite treat, chocolate balls covered with sprinkles. In the video he opens his eyes wide in excitement and shouts wow, while the family laughs with relief, calling out lovingly but with concern as he keeps eating, saying that he has to be careful.
Throughout the two years of his captivity, on special dates and milestones, his family made a point of raising awareness and sending him positive energy through chocolate balls.
About two weeks ago he stood for the first time on the stage in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, the place where his photo had been displayed everywhere for two years. He told the crowd that on October 7 he left home with his friends Idan Hermeti, Ron Tzarfati and David to go to the Nova festival. Around 6 a.m., he said, rockets began and terrorists arrived. They ran and hid.
“I was kidnapped together with Evyatar, without knowing what had happened to my brother Gal, to Idan or to Ron,” He said. “On the day I was released I learned that Idan and Ron had been murdered, and they will forever be in my heart. I stand here today after two long and difficult years that felt like eternity. Two years of darkness, longing and fear, but also of hope that I refused to give up. That hope came from you. Before I was taken down into the tunnels, I saw the photos from the square. You gave me strength and hope, the people of Israel who never forget their brothers left behind. Thank you!”
