Former hostage Daniella Gilboa reflects on captivity and return: 'I never lost faith'

Freed hostage Daniella Gilboa recounts the terror of October 7 and her months in captivity, describing the moment of her abduction and the faith that kept her going

Bar Zaga, Eitan Glickman|
Daniella Gilboa, who was released in the second round of the first phase of the hostage deal, shared a heartfelt post on Instagram Sunday morning about her time in captivity and her return home.
"What a surreal year I've had –I don’t even know where to begin," she wrote. "First and foremost, I want to thank the people who stood by my family for a year and three months, who never gave up, never lost hope."
Former hostages sing in a meeting with Steve Witkoff
(Video: U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem)
A widely shared video shows Gilboa and fellow female IDF lookouts singing "Am Yisrael Chai" in a meeting with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. "We want to say thank you, to you and President Trump for everything," Liri Albag told him. Witkoff responded: "The people of the United States stand with you, the president stands with you. We have a common goal – to bring everybody home."
Hamas, in a psychological warfare tactic against the hostages’ families, previously released a video showing Gilboa’s tattoo in an attempt to falsely claim she had died in captivity. Addressing the incident, she wrote: "Thank you for waiting for me, for not believing the horrific rumors, for continuing to pray for me throughout this entire time. That was my last request before I was taken."
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פוסט תודה ראשון של דניאלה גלבוע
פוסט תודה ראשון של דניאלה גלבוע
Daniella Gilboa with her mother
Gilboa then described the moment of her abduction from a reinforced shelter in Nahal Oz. "I refused to despair or say goodbye. Instead, I prayed and believed with all my heart that my story wouldn’t end in that shelter," she recounted. "For half an hour, I prayed for every girl with me because I felt there was nothing more powerful I could do at that moment. I couldn't rely on the army coming to protect me, or on the shelter itself – it wasn’t just about missiles this time. Even the few armed girls with us weren’t enough to make me feel safe."

"I knew the only thing that could save us was faith"

On Saturday morning, she and fellow hostages Karina, Naama, Liri and Agam recited the Birkat HaGomel prayer in synagogue, a prayer of thanksgiving after surviving a life-endangering situation – a moment she had long awaited. "From the day I survived October 7, I was waiting for this – to thank God for saving us against all odds," she wrote.
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פוסט תודה ראשון של דניאלה גלבוע
פוסט תודה ראשון של דניאלה גלבוע
Former hostage Daniella Gilboa
"Eight days ago, after 477 days in captivity, I was finally reunited with my loved ones – the family I thought about and worried for more than I worried about myself. The people who were with me, not physically, but in spirit, who never gave up and did everything to bring me home. They strengthened me even without knowing it.
"Thank you, my dear family. Thank you, my beloved friends who fought for me until I returned."
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Gilboa also expressed gratitude to her boyfriend, writing: "Thank you, Roiko, my love, for giving me so much strength from afar. You appeared in my dreams, in my thoughts every hour of the day. For over a year, we were together in heart and soul. I love you."
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פוסט תודה ראשון של דניאלה גלבוע
פוסט תודה ראשון של דניאלה גלבוע
Gilboa with her partner Roi
She then praised the soldiers who risked their lives in the fight to bring the hostages home. "Thank you to the heroic soldiers who fought with immense bravery and to those who gave their lives with one goal in mind – to find us and bring us back. Each and every one of us. I appreciate and love you so much. Stay strong, you are incredible."
"With God’s help, very soon we will see all the hostages – both the living and those we lost – back home with their families and loved ones. We cannot give up now. This isn’t over – there are still people who need to come home. And if anyone understands that, it’s you, the people of Israel, who are fighting with all your might and giving them a sliver of hope in the darkness."
Gilboa ended her message with a vow to honor the memory of her fallen friends. "I am deeply grateful for the incredible chance I was given – to live and to commemorate all the friends who were brutally murdered in the command center and in Nahal Oz. May their memory be a blessing. I will never stop until the end of my days."
"I love you all so much," she concluded.
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