Guy Gilboa-Dalal thanked the public for its support and prayers in his first social media statement, posted on Wednesday, since being freed from Hamas captivity.
"I'm home. It is good to be home," Gilboa-Dalal said in the video posted to his Instagram page. "I want to thank the people of Israel for the past two years, where you hoped and prayed that we'd return."
Gilboa-Dalel went on, thanking all those who visited Hostage Square, supported the families of the hostages, and all those who fought for their return.
"You're heroes," he said, thanking all the soldiers who've served over the past two years.
Gilboa-Dalal ended his statement by sending his condolences to all the bereaved families, and the families of the eleven deceased hostages whose remains are still being held in Gaza.
"The fight is not over yet, and I hope that it ends soon," he concluded.
"What a star," former hostage Evyatar David commented on the video.
Abducted from the Nova music festival
On October 7, 2023, Gilboa-Dalal was abducted by Hamas from the Nova music festival. That same day, Hamas released footage of him tied up in a tunnel in Gaza.
”We left the festival in two separate cars, a few minutes apart. We ended up in different places in the huge traffic jam at the exit. We were separated during the volleys of fire,” Gilboa-Dalal's brother Gal recounted through the Hostages and Missing Families Forum website. “ It took me seven and a half hours to get out. Seven and a half hours of running and hiding, shooting everywhere and my brother isn’t answering.”
As part of the psychological torture Gilboa-Dalal suffered in Hamas captivity, terrorists forced him and David to watch the release of Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Eliya Cohen, Avera Mengistu, and Hisham al-Sayed after being promised their freedom.
Danielle Greyman-Kennard contributed to this report.