Hamas Forced Hostage to Stage Her Own Death, Says Mother of Released Daniella Gilboa

[Social Media]

 

Daniella Gilboa, recently freed from captivity, was forced by Hamas to participate in a staged propaganda video depicting her as dead, her mother, Orly Gilboa, revealed in an interview on Wednesday. According to Orly, Daniella was coerced into the deceptive act while being held hostage, with her captors covering her in powder and debris to make it appear as though she had been killed in an Israeli airstrike.  

 

Daniella being captured by Hamas

448 días desde que la secuestraron

Liberen a Daniella Gilboa pic.twitter.com/pPsjORfrNT

— SissiEmperatriz 🇮🇱 (@GabyLob) December 27, 2024

 

Orly Gilboa recounted her daughter's harrowing experience, telling Channel 12 news, “One of the captors simply came to her with a camera and told her, ‘Today we are filming you dead.’” She described how Daniella pleaded for her life, begging them not to go through with the act. Despite her protests, she was forced to comply, resulting in a propaganda video that sparked rumors of her death.  

 

 

Following her release last month as part of a ceasefire agreement, Daniella expressed deep remorse to her parents for the distress the video had caused them. “When she saw me and my husband for the first time, she apologized for how she caused us to feel this whole time,” Orly said.

 

In November, a spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing claimed that “one of the enemy’s female prisoners was killed in an area that is under Zionist aggression in the northern Gaza Strip.” Accompanying the claim was a blurred image of a body that Hamas suggested belonged to a slain hostage.

 

The image, showing a tattoo identical to one Daniella has, led to widespread speculation that she had been killed.  

 

Hamas has a history of using propaganda videos as psychological warfare, according to Israeli officials. The group has released numerous hostage recordings, exploiting captives in its efforts to manipulate public perception and instill fear.  

 

 

During the ceasefire that began in January, Hamas released 21 hostages, including civilians, soldiers, and Thai nationals. However, 73 hostages abducted on October 7 remain in Gaza, with at least 35 confirmed dead, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The terror group freed 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November 2023, while four hostages had been released before that.  

 

Additionally, eight hostages have been rescued alive by Israeli forces, while 40 bodies have been recovered, including three hostages mistakenly killed by the IDF as they attempted to escape their captors. Hamas is still holding two Israeli civilians who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015, along with the remains of an IDF soldier killed in 2014. Another soldier’s body, also killed in 2014, was recovered from Gaza in January.  

 

 

The ordeal of Daniella Gilboa highlights the ongoing suffering of hostages and their families, as well as the psychological tactics employed by Hamas during the conflict.

 

Based on a report by The Australian | TOI 2025-02-14