One year ago, Evyatar David appeared in a Hamas propaganda video, weak and skeletal, gripping a shovel in a concrete tunnel and digging what he said was his own grave.
This month, the former Israeli hostage smiled as he stood at his older brother Ilai’s wedding playing guitar with his sister as the couple exchanged vows.
“They tried to ruin our [lives] and our families’ lives and eventually they didn’t manage to ruin everything,” said David. He pointed to the wedding of another hostage, Eliya Cohen, as the ultimate form of triumph over captivity. “It’s the biggest closure and a huge moment of victory,” he said.
The 24-year-old was speaking to CNN in his first international media interview since his release nearly a year ago, and as any prospect of peace remains elusive. He spoke about the starvation he endured in captivity, how music has helped him through the difficult months that have followed his release – and of his determination to ensure the world doesn’t forget what he and his fellow hostages went through.
David was 22 when he was abducted from the Nova music festival during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel alongside his childhood friend, Guy Gilboa Dalal. Two other friends in their group were killed in the attack. David and Gilboa-Dalal were taken to Gaza, where they spent most of their underground captivity together.
