October 7 · Personal story
Danielle Aloni
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Her sister Sharon’s home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, which Danielle and Emilia were visiting.
Current outcome
Released alive · November 24, 2023
Released with her daughter on November 24, 2023, after 49 days in captivity, and returned to Israel.
01
A family visit from Yavne
Danielle was raising her daughter Emilia as a single mother. In October 2023 they visited her younger sister Sharon in Nir Oz, where Sharon lived with David Cunio and their twin daughters, Emma and Yuli. In a later interview, Danielle described caring for younger siblings from childhood. From the age of six she helped prepare food and collect her brother from kindergarten. Sharon was ten and a half years younger. Looking after family had been part of Danielle’s life long before she had to care for Emilia in captivity.
02
The safe room filled with smoke
Danielle and the others sheltered in the safe room while David held its door shut. She later described gunfire outside, efforts to call for help, and smoke filling the room after the house was set on fire. She embraced Emilia, fearing that they would die there. The family escaped the burning house, but armed men took them away. Danielle said she, Emilia and her niece Emma were put in a vehicle, while Sharon, David and Yuli were taken separately. Danielle held Emma’s hand until the captors pulled the child away. She remained with her own daughter.
03
Protecting Emilia in captivity
At the beginning of captivity, Danielle walked for hours through tunnels while caring for Emilia. Yocheved Lifshitz was among the captives with them. When Danielle later experienced a panic attack, she said Yarden Bibas held her hand and Adina helped her control her breathing. Danielle and Emilia were moved without warning between hiding places. Danielle described spending three days in a cave, then being taken to a dark apartment; during transfers, she said, there was no time to prepare. From the apartment they heard explosions and felt the ground shake. In another family home, a guard sat at the entrance around the clock, and they had to ask permission for ordinary activities. Danielle found a small Pop-It toy and played with Emilia. She tried to arrange afternoon sleep because there was little else to occupy a child nearing six. When someone estimated that release might take two years, Danielle began to cry.
04
Released on the first day
Danielle and Emilia were released on November 24, 2023, after 49 days. Danielle recalled repeated promises that they would leave the next day before the release finally happened. She described being blindfolded during a car journey and then transferred to the Red Cross amid a crowd. Mother and daughter returned to Israel and were taken to Schneider Children’s Medical Center. Photographs published the next day showed Emilia hugging her grandmother. Sharon and the twins returned three days later, but David remained captive. Danielle’s return was therefore followed by a long wait for her brother-in-law.
05
A later family reunion
Danielle focused on Emilia’s recovery after returning, while continuing to speak for relatives still in Gaza. David and his brother Ariel returned on October 13, 2025. Later that month, she described entering their hospital room and embracing them. She also began speaking to companies and organizations about her experience, something she had not done before captivity. In a March 2026 interview, Danielle described freedom through everyday choices: taking a walk, traveling, sharing a meal and embracing someone she loved. With her relatives back, she said she could enjoy those moments without the guilt she had felt while they remained captive.