When Hamas brought two captive Israelis to watch Saturday’s release of six of their fellow hostages and then beg for their own liberation, it was purposely jabbing at a deeply painful divide in Israeli society.
Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal were 22-year-old best friends when they were kidnapped at the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023. The Hamas video showed them sitting in a minivan watching the propaganda-laden handover ceremony, and then turning to the cameras to plead with Benjamin Netanyahu to agree a second phase in the current ceasefire, which would allow the release of all the remaining 59 hostages (only a minority of whom are thought to be still alive).
