October 7 · Personal story
Guy Gilboa-Dalal
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Nova music festival near Re’im
Current outcome
Released alive · October 13, 2025
Released alive on October 13, 2025, after 738 days in captivity under the negotiated agreement.
01
Life before October 7
Guy Gilboa-Dalal went to the Nova music festival with friends, including childhood friend Evyatar David. The two had grown up together, and Guy came from Alfei Menashe. Their friendship was part of the familiar circle that brought him to the festival. That night began with music and people he knew; the attack separated Guy from his brother, who managed to escape, and from the friends beside him.
02
Abduction
When the attack began on October 7, 2023, Guy and his friends tried to leave the Nova festival. His brother escaped; Guy was abducted from the grounds and taken to Gaza.
03
Captivity
In February 2025, a video released by his captors showed Guy with childhood friend Evyatar David as they watched other hostages being released. Guy later described how frightening it was to see their release while he remained captive. The video was staged and filmed by his captors; Guy and David were not there by choice. The video showed them in a vehicle as three hostages were handed to the Red Cross. In a June 2026 Associated Press interview, Guy described sexual abuse he said he experienced in captivity. He spent much of his time deep underground in a narrow cell with three other hostages. He said the assaults happened more than a year after his abduction, and that he froze, terrified and physically weakened. Threats and constant monitoring kept him from speaking about them. Shortly before one captive was released during the February 2025 ceasefire, Guy told another person held with him. He first spoke publicly about the assaults about a month after his return, then discussed them again with Israel’s first lady.
04
Return
Guy returned alive on October 13, 2025, after 738 days in captivity through the negotiated agreement that brought the living hostages home. He arrived at Beilinson hospital and reunited with his family in Israel. His captivity began when he was taken from the Nova festival on October 7, 2023.
05
After the return
In his June 2026 AP interview, Guy said he wanted survivors of sexual assault to know they were not alone and that what happened was not their fault. He worried that survivors might remain isolated or blame themselves. He was trying to heal and spend time with family, and was writing a book and an anime script about his experiences. He spoke with first lady Michal Herzog in Jerusalem ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. He said survivors might blame themselves: “But it wasn’t my fault and it wasn’t any of the victims’ fault.”