Israeli hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David were forced on Saturday to watch their friends’ release ceremony from captivity. Hamas compelled the two to attend and watch the ceremony from inside a vehicle.
Evyatar and Guy are childhood friends who were kidnapped from the Nova music festival during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel.
Hamas is pure evil.
— Jews Fight Back 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@JewsFightBack) February 22, 2025
These sadistic, subhuman terrorists just dragged two Jewish hostages, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, to the release point—not to set them free, but to psychologically torture them. They forced them to watch as other hostages were let go, dangling their… pic.twitter.com/jrknt65iKz
“They forced them to watch their friends being released and then returned them to the tunnels, there is nothing more cruel than that,” Ilan Dalal, Guy Gilboa-Dalal’s father, told Israel’s Channel 12 News. “This shows the most urgent need to get them out of there. They cannot continue to go through this, it’s simply inhuman,” he added.
Regarding his decision to allow publication of the footage of the incident released by Hamas, he said: “There was no hesitation, I immediately gave permission, I wanted people to see and understand the need to get them out. Maybe those who oppose the deal will change their minds. Let them see what they’re going through there.”
“Severe psychological abuse”
“Guy is thinner, his eyes are frightened, but it’s Guy, his voice and movements are like Guy. If I could go hug him, I would run to Gaza to hug him, just get him out of there,” said Ilan.
“I assume Hamas told them what to say; they’re not exposed to media. I don’t relate to the content because it’s not relevant, what matters is their body language, that they’re not wounded, relatively thin and experiencing severe psychological abuse,” he added. “Just today, we received a sign of life from him, we hadn’t heard anything about the conditions, but we now see their conditions were less harsh than others and I’m happy about that. I just hope they won’t have to stay there much longer. It’s time to get them out.”
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum released a statement in response to the video, saying: “63 hostages have been held by these perpetrators for 505 days. Besides the inhumane physical conditions in captivity as evidenced by those who returned, the hostages experience severe and cruel mental abuse. Their time is up! The Israeli government and its leader must accelerate negotiations and bring about the immediate return of all hostages, without delays....”
Israel on Saturday redeemed six living hostages from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip: Eliya Cohen, 27, Avera Mengistu, 39, Hisham al-Sayed, 36, Omer Shem Tov, 22, Tal Shoham, 40, and Omer Wenkert, 23.
Cohen, Shem Tov, Shoham and Wenkert were all abducted during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, while Mengistu and al-Sayed were taken captive over a decade ago.
Hamas released Mengistu and Shoham during a propaganda ceremony in southern Gaza’s Rafah, while Cohen, Shem Tov and Wenkert were freed in a similar exchange in Nuseirat in the Palestinian enclave’s center. Al-Sayed was handed over in Gaza City, without a ceremony, according to Hamas in honor of his Palestinian family.
Hamas is still holding 63 hostages in Gaza, only 27 of whom are believed to be alive.
A version of this article was originally published by Israel Hayom.
