‘The only thing that could save us was faith’ – released hostage Daniella Gilboa posts first message following her release from Hamas captivity

IDF surveillance soldier Daniella Gilboa, who was abducted from the Nahal Oz outpost on Oct. 7, 2023, and released as part of the hostage deal last month, wrote an Instagram post on Sunday morning describing how faith kept her strong during her time in captivity. 

“What a bizarre year it has been for me, I don’t even know where to start,” she wrote. “I think first of all, I’ll say thank you to the people who supported my family for a year and three months, who didn’t leave, didn’t give up, or lose hope.”

Gilboa continued: “Thank you for waiting for me, thank you for not believing the terrible rumors, thank you for continuing to pray for me throughout this entire period. This was my last request before I was kidnapped. I didn’t want to give up or say goodbye, so instead, I prayed and believed with all my heart that my end wasn’t there, in that bomb shelter.”

“I prayed for all the girls who were with me for half an hour, because I felt like there was nothing else I could do better than that at the time. I couldn’t rely on the safety that the army might provide, or on the protection the shelter might offer, because it wasn’t just about the rockets. I couldn’t rely on those few armed girls either.

Her post continued, “I knew that the only thing that could save us was faith. Yesterday [Shabbat] morning, I, Karina, Naama, Liri, and Agam recited the HaGomel blessing of thanksgiving in the synagogue. I had been waiting for this moment since the day I survived October 7. To thank God, who, against all odds, saved us from the worst possible thing. 

The blessing Birkat HaGomel is typically recited by someone saved from a life-threatening situation.

The Instagram post continued, “Eight days ago, after 477 days in captivity, I finally met my loved ones, the family I thought about and worried about more than I worried about myself. With the people who were with me there, though not physically, but in my heart, who never gave up and did everything to bring me back. They strengthened me constantly, even without knowing it. Thank you, my dear family. Thank you, my beloved friends who fought for me until I returned.”

Gilboa also thanked her partner, Ro’i Dadon, with whom she has been in a relationship since 7th grade. 

“Thank you, my Roiko, my love, who gave me so much strength from afar. You came to me in dreams, in my thoughts every hour of the day. We were together for over a year, in heart and spirit. I love you." 

Dadon was there to meet Gilboa at the hospital when she arrived with her family. After waiting over a year for her to return, he proposed to Daniella, surrounded by family. 

Several days later, when U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, visited the released female IDF surveillance soldiers, and after viewing Dadon and Gilboa's reunion video, he told her, “I want to be at your wedding.” 

Gilboa also thanked the IDF soldiers who fought in Gaza and searched relentlessly for signs of the hostages. 

“And thank you to all the heroic soldiers who fought with immense courage, and to those who gave their lives for one big goal: To find and bring everyone home. Each and every one of us. I admire you so much, love you, and send you support for the future. You are champions.”

Gilboa called the government to continue to seek the release of the remaining hostages. 

“With God’s help, very soon we will all get to see everyone – alive and deceased hostages – home with their families and loved ones again. We must not give up now, it’s not over yet because there are still people who need to return. And who better than me to know that you, the people of Israel, the ones fighting with all your might, give them that tiny bit of hope in this great darkness."

“I want to finish by saying that I am grateful for the amazing opportunity I had to live and to honor all the friends who were cruelly murdered from the command center and Nahal Oz. May their memory be a blessing, and I will not stop until the end of my life. I love you very much. Daniella.”