October 7 · Personal story
Segev Kalfon
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.
01
Before October 7
Segev Kalfon lived in Dimona and worked at his family’s bakery in Arad while studying finance and investments. He is the son of Galit and Kobi, with siblings Raz and Talia. Friends persuaded him to go to Nova even though he felt unwell. When he left for the festival, his ticket had not yet been approved. His closest friend Asaf Harush went with him.
02
October 7
When rockets sounded at Nova, Kalfon and his friends packed their gear and tried to leave. Traffic blocked the exit, so he and Asaf ran through fields with other people seeking a road and a way out. Kalfon later said he tried to guide the group and urged people sheltering in a yellow dumpster to leave it. Armed attackers caught him on the roadside and took him to Gaza. He was separated from Asaf, whom he believed had been killed; after returning, he learned Asaf had survived.
03
Captivity
In his October 31, 2025 interview, Kalfon described being moved between several houses with Yosef-Haim Ohana and Maxim Herkin. At the first, which they called the house of hearts because of its ceiling, he spent three days bound and blindfolded. Guards beat him, tightened restraints and punished attempts to communicate. In June 2024, after months above ground, they were taken into a tunnel and joined other hostages. Kalfon described sharing food and cramped space with five other men. In his later AP interview, he recalled severe hunger, near-daily abuse, illness without medicine and isolation during the last three months. Counting tiles and cracks helped occupy his mind. Hearing his mother’s voice on the radio gave him strength to hold on.
04
Return
Kalfon returned alive on October 13, 2025, after 738 days in captivity. He told Ynet that entering the Red Cross vehicle felt like a boulder lifting from his heart: he was on his way to his country and his family. After captivity, a family embrace, a good friend and a bottle of clean water had become precious to him. In his later AP interview at home in Dimona, he described a schedule filled with appointments with doctors and psychologists, recurring memories and difficulty sleeping.
05
Aftermath
At a Jerusalem conference on November 17, 2025, Kalfon spoke about trying to keep busy during the day while memories returned at night. He recalled threats to execute him and the constant fear he had endured. His AP interview also described recovery as ongoing work. He wanted people to hear what he had experienced, even as he struggled with sleep and the adjustment to making his own choices.