Galia David, mother of hostage Evyatar David, spoke of the suffering endured by her son and hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal as they watched the cynical "release ceremony" Hamas held prior to their friends' release.
Evyatar and Guy were both kidnapped during the October 7 massacre, and are still held hostage in Gaza. Hamas brought the two to watch the release of Omer Wenkert, Omer Shem Tov, and Eliya Cohen last month.
"It was clear that it was staged, but I saw the expressions on their faces, their bodies' distress, and the insane look in Evyatar's eyes - I saw how serious his condition is," she told Kan Reshet Bet. "It shook me, I can't sleep. I can't get the pictures out of my head.
Since the video was published, she understood how serious her son's situation is: "The testimonies were very difficult, both in terms of his physical condition and his mental condition, and the endless fear of IDF operations when they were above ground, as well as of the guards who dig tunnels and the sadistic guard who degrades them."
She also spoke of the meeting with Tal Shoham, who was held together with Evyatar for a long period.
"It's like touching Evyatar and hearing many things that are unlike Evyatar."
After her meeting with Tal, Galia understood that Evyatar and Guy are living in constant fear of the IDF's strikes: "They put it in their heads that the IDF wants to kill them," she said, adding that the two also feared they would be separated.
"My Evyatar wears glasses, but since the start of his captivity, he has been without glasses, Guy serves as his eyes. Guy has an issue in his ear, so Evatar hears for him. I only hope that we will soon be able to embrace them," she expressed.
"We are not giving up, we are doing everything. We come to every place in the world - we just want you to preserve our strength, and we hope that it will happen as fast as possible so that we will be able to hug you again. Evyatari, I really really hope that you will soon come home to begin a new journey of healing and life - a new life."