October 7 · Personal story
Daniella Gilboa
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Nahal Oz military base
Current outcome
Released alive · January 25, 2025
Released alive with Naama Levy, Liri Albag, and Karina Ariev after 477 days in captivity.
01
Before captivity
Daniella Gilboa began writing songs at about seven, composing at the piano in her family home. She later learned piano and started performing live; in an interview with the Australian Jewish News she called music the work she wanted to do with her life. Before her abduction, she co-wrote a song, “Maybe the Door Will Open,” with fellow Nahal Oz observers Yam Glass and Aviv Hajaj. Both were killed on October 7, according to the same account.
02
October 7
On October 7, 2023, Gilboa was abducted from the Nahal Oz base while serving as an observer; she was 19. The Australian Jewish News account says she was taken with fellow observers Naama Levy, Karina Ariev, Liri Albag, and Agam Berger. A Russian-language Vesty-Ynet profile reports that her family first learned of the abduction from Hamas material and that the army confirmed it later.
03
Captivity
Gilboa was held for 477 days. Her mother told Walla that, while in captivity, Daniella heard public broadcasts and family messages at some times, but there were long periods without access to communication. Her father said that she kept singing; in her own later interview, Gilboa recalled quiet moments when she and other captives sang together, describing music as a way to remind themselves they were human. She said captors prohibited Hebrew singing, so she learned to recite prayers in Arabic and used them to welcome Shabbat.
04
Return
Gilboa was released alive on January 25, 2025, alongside Levy, Albag, and Ariev, after 477 days in captivity. The release-day Ynet account describes the four observers being transferred to the Red Cross and then brought to the Israeli reception point at Re’im, where they met their parents. The Australian Jewish News later identified the same date and companions in its account of Gilboa’s first year after release. This was a negotiated release during a ceasefire arrangement, not a military rescue.
05
After returning
On February 22, 2026, Ynet published Gilboa’s own interview around the release of her debut single, “Where Everything Ends,” written with Gil Vain and Uri Sachiv. She said the song follows her perspective through captivity, thoughts about the outside world, and the feeling of returning home beneath the sun. On August 31, 2026, Australian Jewish News published another interview in which she described music as the air she breathes, a safe place, and a way to express feelings others may not understand. The report also described her performance with Karina Ariev of a song she had written with Yam Glass at a memorial event. Gilboa said she hoped her music would bring light to people still in darkness.