Ilan Dalal told N12 that despite the damage his son sustained in Hamas captivity, “slowly, with a lot of love and with family and friends around him, he will be fine.”
During his 739-day captivity, released hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal faced a “nightmare” of relentless struggle at the hands of Hamas terrorists, his father, Ilan Gilboa, shared with N12 on Friday.
Gilboa told N12 that the outcome of “all kinds of difficult things” described to him by his son includes multiple infections, hearing loss in one ear, stomach pain and vomiting, as well as skin problems and vitamin deficiencies.
“These are things I assume are reversible,” Girlboa said, regarding his son’s physical health problems. “The psychological team is working with him to process what happened. Slowly, with a lot of love and with family and friends around him, he will be fine.”
Guy Gilboa-Dalal at Re’im, October 13, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)
While Gilboa did not share much about his son’s mental state, he did share pieces of what made Guy get through captivity.
“Guy suddenly saw an interview on television of his brother standing with his shirt on,” he told N12.
At that point, Gilboa-Dalal did not know whether or not his brother had survived the October 7 massacre. Upon realizing that his brother was alive and advocating for his release, it gave him the courage to keep going.
“It made him very happy and gave him a lot of strength,” Gilboa said.
Dreamlike happiness following tragedy
Gilboa recounted another heartwarming moment in which Guy ate one of his favorite desserts, homemade chocolate balls, for the first time since his release.
He said that tasting the dessert “brought him back to his senses a little. We saw his reactions, that says it all.”
The N12 report noted that Gilboa-Dalal’s wish to come home before his sister’s 18th birthday, which he expressed in an August letter that the Red Cross delivered earlier, came true.
Ilan Gilboa described Guy’s return as being “happier even than the day he was born.”
Despite the harsh conditions and lingering struggles resulting from Gilboa-Dalal’s captivity, his father shared his positive outlook for his son and for his family, stating that “step by step [they] will recover and everything will be fine.”