Daniella Gilboa, a former hostage of Hamas, was reportedly coerced into pretending to be deceased for a propaganda video. Orly Gilboa, Daniella’s mother, revealed the distressing experience in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12.
During the ordeal, one of the captors brought a camera to Daniella and informed her, ‘Daniella, today we’re going to film you dead.’ Despite her pleas and request to spare her life, Daniella was adorned with debris and powder to create the illusion that she had perished in an Israeli airstrike.
Back in November 2024, Hamas announced that Gilboa had succumbed to an Israeli airstrike, using the video of her “lifeless body” as evidence. Nonetheless, Gilboa was indeed alive and was eventually freed from captivity on January 25, 2025, along with Liri Albag, Naama Levy, and Karina Ariev.
Released Israeli hostage Daniella Gilboa, a soldier who was seized from her army base in southern Israel during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, is embraced by her parents after being released as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in an unknown location, in a handout photo obtained by Reuters on Jan. 25, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS)
Following Hamas’ release of the video, the IDF said in a statement that it was investigating the situation. The IDF also condemned the release of the video, saying “Hamas continues to engage in psychological terror and act with extreme brutality.”
Hamas made videos of multiple hostages, including Yarden Bibas, whose wife and two young sons were also kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023. Bibas is seen in the Hamas video, which was released in November 2023, breaking down as he is told that his family was killed. The fate of Bibas’ wife, Shiri, and their sons, Ariel and Kfir, remains unknown.
Gilboa, Albag, Levy and Ariev were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from an IDF base in southern Israel during the attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. Agam Berger, who was taken hostage with the other female soldiers, was held for an extra week alone. She was released from Hamas captivity on Jan. 30, 2025.
Former Hamas hostages Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Daniela Gilboa and Karina Ariev watch as fellow hostage Agam Berger is released. (Courtesy: IDF)
Hamas and Israel were engaged in a ceasefire. However, the terrorist organization threatened to stop hostage releases. President Donald Trump then gave Hamas a deadline of Saturday, Feb. 15, at 12 p.m. to release the remaining hostages.
“If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “Let all hell break out. Israel can override it.”
Trump stressed that Hamas needs to release “all of them, not in drips and drabs.”
Israel’s security cabinet backed President Trump’s threat, and Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a statement that if the hostages are not released by the deadline, they “will resume intense combat until Hamas is decisively defeated.”
On Thursday, Hamas announced it would free three more Israeli hostages as originally planned, according to the Associated Press.
Greg Norman contributed to this report.
