Ilay David, whose younger brother, Evyatar, was abducted by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel, told Newsmax on Sunday that his family believes the young musician is still alive while knowing he’s suffering.
“First, it’s brutal. It’s been two years since he was kidnapped,” Ilay David told Newsmax’s “Sunday Agenda.” “We knew since the beginning that Evyatar is alive. We’ve had several signs of life in the shape of propaganda videos that Hamas posted online. But we always had this uncertainty, this deep pain. We knew that Evyatar is suffering a great deal.”
Evyatar David was abducted from the Nova music festival when he was just 22 years old. Since then, the family has seen disturbing images showing him emaciated and weakened in captivity. His brother said those images continue to haunt them.
“We’re talking Hamas. They’re not even human. They’re not even animals. These are subhuman savages,” Ilay David said. “So it’s very hard, right, to even trust that they’re going to fulfill their promise.”
Despite the trauma, Ilay David expressed some optimism that new international talks could finally secure his brother’s release. Still, he stressed that the freedom of all hostages must come before broader political discussions.
“I believe that we have to make sure this … [President Donald Trump] plan is magnificent. I’ve read it. But there is one point of it that is the most important. It is the first one,” he said. “The first point of it says release of all hostages within 72 hours. And we are talking about all 48, alive and dead. We have to make sure it happens.”
Ilay David warned that hostages can’t become bargaining chips in shaping Gaza’s future.
“We just have to make sure, because the hostages, they don’t have the time to wait for more mechanisms to be built around this peace treaty,” he said. “This future cannot be on the backs of the hostages. It cannot be on the back of my brother. So we have to make sure that the first point is being made. And after this, all the rest.”
As negotiations advance, Ilay David said the daily reality for his family remains harrowing.
“I can only hope and pray that we are on that direction and we can have an end to this very, very soon. It’s a nightmare. It’s an absolute nightmare,” he said.
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