The mothers of Guy Gilboa-Dalal, 23, and Evyatar David, 24, spoke to Israel Hayom about the harrowing conditions in which their sons, best friends since toddlerhood, are still being held in Gaza. The two men were abducted together by Hamas terrorists from the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023.
Merav Gilboa-Dalal recounted information passed on by former hostages Omer Wenkert and Tal Shoham, who were held with Guy and Evyatar and appeared together with them in an infamous brutal video published by Hamas.
“They are being held in a small tunnel, 30 meters underground. They are chained. The tunnel is extremely cramped, dark, cut off from the outside world, and barely has room for four mattresses, Merav Gilboa-Dalal said.
‘Forced to relieve themselves in front of other hostages’
“There’s nowhere to move, and you can’t stand upright. Inside that tiny space, there’s a pit for relieving themselves, and everything is done in full view of the other hostages.
“Guy and Evyatar are living in filth, and we know they are being subjected to severe psychological abuse,” she said.
“They don’t know how hard we’re fighting for them. They’re malnourished, in a place with hardly any air, no physical activity, and no stimulation. It’s easy to sink into depression in such a place.
“We also know their health is not good. Guy, for example, was kidnapped with knee and ear problems, and we know these injuries are not being treated. Both of them are suffering from various infections and extreme mental distress,” Merav Gilboa-Dalal said.
Galia David, Evyatar’s mother, added, “He’s been there for a year and a half without his glasses and can barely see. He and Guy have been starving for a long time, for many months.
“But about two weeks before Tal and Omer’s release [on Feb. 22], they suddenly started feeding them. Just think about how they looked in that video Hamas released, and imagine how they looked before they started giving them that food. They’re really suffering.”
Gilboa-Dalal continued, “You’ve got four thin young men who weren’t given food, and suddenly they’re being stuffed. No one told them why this was happening. They didn’t know that some of them were about to be released, because there’s no communication and no one updates them.
“Think about Guy and Evyatar’s mental state now, after they were taken out together with Tal and Omer, thinking they were about to be freed as well. On top of the harsh conditions and the relentless abuse, they experienced something devastating. The terrorists gave them a taste of freedom for a moment and then shoved them back into that filthy black hole.”
David said, “I believe the terrorists haven’t managed to completely break them.”
Have you received any personal messages from them?
David: “We did, but I prefer to keep that to myself for now. I’m not comfortable sharing personal things my son asked to be passed on to me.”
Gilboa-Dalal: “I feel the same. But broadly speaking, they sent their love.”
David: “From the hostages who returned, we heard that the relationship between Guy and Evyatar is symbiotic. They depend on each other.”
Gilboa-Dalal: “What will happen if they carry out a selection and only take one of them? They can’t survive without each other.”
David: “They chose each other at 18 months old. This isn’t a blood connection. Their souls were bonded by choice, and that’s extraordinary. When one of them hurts, the other does too.”
Originally published by Israel Hayom.