Evyatar David was 22 when he was abducted from the Nova Music Festival from Re’im in southern Israel. He was enjoying the music with three friends, two of whom were murdered by the invading terrorists and one of whom, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, also remains in Hamas captivity.
Those able to escape the massacre told David’s cousin Jonathan Guttman that David had helped people flee and had stayed behind to help rescue the wounded, Gutman told NBC News only a month after his cousin’s abduction.
David’s brother told The Mirror a year after the invasion that David and Gilboa-Dalal were abducted at gunpoint once they attempted to drive away.
Video of the abduction released by the family showed David loaded, handcuffed, onto the back of a pick-up truck and being hit with the gun of one of the terrorists.
On the day of his abduction, David’s sister Yaella saw videos of him being paraded through the streets of Gaza locked into a headlock.
After over a year in captivity, Hamas released a video of David and Gilboa-Dalal watching a Hamas propaganda release ceremony after being promised their own freedom. The psychological torture made headlines, though David’s mother stressed that the video was scripted by the Gazan terror group.
"My son is not a great actor, and they still put my son in a role with a gun over his head.,” she told 103FM following the video’s release in February.
Ilay David, Evyatar’s older brother, told the Guardian in February that the video was the “the first ever sign of life” they received. Ilay shared, “We had this feeling that he’s OK and he’s surviving. I had no doubt, but seeing it was amazing. For me, it was like oxygen.”
Though relieved to see his brother was still alive, Ilay shared that it was difficult for his family to see the suffering on David’s face.
“He looks half the man he was. He looks starved. He looks exhausted,” Ilay said.
Released hostages have also shared testimonies on the harsh psychological and physical torture endured by David and Gilboa-Dalal.
Released hostage Tal Shoham told Channel 12 in July that Gilboa-Dalal and David were suffering in “horrific” conditions from malnutrition and were subjected to intense physical abuse.
The pair had been bound and forced to sit facing a wall with black sacks over their heads for extended periods and denied access to water.
"They filmed us constantly. From what I understood, there was also an explosive device next to the camera, aimed at us – so it would take out everything in the tunnel if the IDF tried to rescue us,” Shoham explained. "The guards operated like a military unit – without empathy – and that allowed them to abuse us in ways that would have been harder to do above ground."
“Their mental state deteriorated badly – they couldn't sleep, and when they did, it was for long stretches,” he shared. “At times, they completely shut down. Guy once went an entire week without saying a word. It felt like they couldn't survive even one more day."
Who was Evyatar David before Hamas kidnapped him?
While now David’s psychological state is reportedly suffering, his brother had told The Media that his brother’s laid back attitude had once earned him the reputation of being “too calm.”
Before his abduction, David was known for his love of music. He played both the guitar and piano, according to Ynet.
He was also known for being a compassionate friend with attentive listening skills and an ability to offer insights and advice beyond his years, his mum told the Israeli media site.
His siblings said that he was still working out what he wanted to do in life, working at a cafe in the meantime, but was leaning toward studying music production.