An Israeli man held captive by Hamas for more than two years has publicly described the profound physical and psychological torment he endured, revealing a state of "total helplessness" during his 738-day ordeal.
From Festival Organizer to Captive
Elkana Bohbot was an entrepreneur and one of the key organizers of the Nova music festival, a project he had planned for six months with childhood friends Osher and Michael Vaknin. The event on October 7, 2023, was meant to be a celebratory peak after personal challenges. Instead, it became the site of a massacre.
As rocket fire began that morning, Bohbot urged attendees to flee. Hamas terrorists stormed the area, shooting civilians at point-blank range and documenting the killings. The Vaknin twins were among the 376 murdered at the festival. Bohbot was captured and forcibly taken into the Gaza Strip.
Two Years of Physical and Psychological Torture
In a recent interview with Ynet, Bohbot detailed the severe abuse that marked his captivity. He was beaten during the abduction and sustained a deep leg injury when a terrorist pressed a hot gun barrel against his skin. The wound was so severe his captors later suspected a gunshot.
He described being among the wounded, bound Israelis shown in one of the first propaganda videos released by Hamas, his terrified expression becoming an image seared into Israeli memory.
Yet, Bohbot stated the psychological abuse often exceeded the physical violence. His captors identified his family as his greatest vulnerability and exploited it relentlessly. They repeatedly lied to him, claiming his mother and wife were dead. In one chilling instance, a terrorist asked for his young son Re'em's name, then said, "I pray that your son dies," and began praying in front of the captive father.
Consumed by Fear for Family
Throughout the 738 days, Bohbot's thoughts were consumed by the fate of his wife, Rivka, and their son. "What about them? Where are they? What did they tell the child? How does he cope? It was the hardest," he recounted.
He described moments of sheer terror, including praying to be shot rather than lynched, thinking of how his son would grow up knowing his father died in a Hamas lynching. The constant uncertainty and psychological manipulation created an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
Elkana Bohbot was finally released and returned to Israel on October 13, 2025, greeted at the Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical Centre in Ramat Gan. His account provides a stark, firsthand testimony to the ongoing human cost of hostage-taking and the severe tactics employed by the terrorist group.
