'Appreciate everything': Evyatar David on Hamas captivity, three years after Oct. 7 - interview

Former hostage Evyatar David recounts his 738 days in Hamas captivity in an interview marking three years since the October 7 attacks. He describes the Nova festival attack, the psychological torment of being told no one wanted him home, and the hope that sustained him through watching other hostages being released.

Former hostage Evyatar David, 22 when abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, recounts his 738 days in Hamas captivity in an interview marking the third anniversary. He describes the festival attack as 'pure chaos' with friends dying around him. His best friend Guy Gilboa-Dalal was also kidnapped; two other friends were murdered. David recalls being beaten during abduction by both Hamas and civilians including children. He says Hamas told him they would 'kill until the last Jew is out of Israel.' Held in tunnels, he became internationally known when Hamas released propaganda footage showing him severely emaciated. He was ordered to dig a pit he feared was his own grave. The worst experience, he says, was psychological warfare: captors told him the government, the US, and his family did not want him. Hope came from watching other hostages being released in deals. He warns that radical Islamic organizations will 'always try to eliminate us' and that the danger extends beyond Israel to Paris, London, and elsewhere.