Former Hamas hostage’s mom says daughter was forced to fake her death for a propaganda video
In a shocking turn of events, former Hamas hostage Daniella Gilboa was reportedly forced to fake her own death for a propaganda video. Her mother, Orly Gilboa, revealed the harrowing details of the ordeal in an interview with Israel’s Channel 12. According to Orly Gilboa, one of Daniella’s captors instructed her to act dead for the camera, covering her in debris and powder to make it seem like she was a victim of an Israeli airstrike.
In November 2024, Hamas claimed that Gilboa had been killed in an airstrike, using the video of her “dead body” as evidence. However, Gilboa was alive and was eventually released from captivity on January 25, 2025, along with three other hostages – Liri Albag, Naama Levy, and Karina Ariev.
The release of the video prompted the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to launch an investigation into the situation. The IDF condemned Hamas for engaging in psychological terror and acting with extreme brutality. The fate of other hostages, such as Yarden Bibas and his family, remains unknown.
Gilboa, Albag, Levy, and Ariev were abducted from an IDF base in southern Israel during the 2023 attacks by Hamas. Agam Berger, who was also taken hostage, was released a week after the other female soldiers. The hostages were given more food leading up to their release and were informed only three days before they were set free.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog expressed outrage at the condition of the released hostages, promising that the situation would not be ignored. President Donald Trump supported Netanyahu’s demand for all hostages to be released by a specific deadline, threatening to resume combat if Hamas failed to comply.
Following Trump’s ultimatum, Hamas agreed to release three more hostages as originally planned. The Israeli security cabinet backed the threat, with Netanyahu stating that intense combat would resume if the hostages were not freed by the deadline.
The ongoing hostage crisis continues to escalate, with tensions between Hamas and Israel reaching a breaking point. The fate of the remaining hostages hangs in the balance as the world watches and waits for a resolution to this tragic ordeal.
