Former Hamas Hostage Daniella Gilboa Previews Song Marking One Year of Freedom

A year after her release from nearly 500 days in Hamas captivity, former IDF soldier Daniella Gilboa has found her voice and she's using it to sing.

On Sunday, Gilboa shared a preview of a deeply personal new song, marking the one-year anniversary of her return to Israel after being abducted from the Nahal Oz military base during the brutal October 7, 2023 attack. She was one of seven female IDF observers kidnapped and held in Gaza under unimaginable conditions.

Now, Gilboa is transforming trauma into art.

“I can't believe that the moment has finally arrived when I get to share something of mine,” she wrote on Instagram. “Finally my voice can be heard, and I don't need to whisper anymore, don't need to fear. From here, I'm setting off on a new path.”

The preview, shared with her growing online following, offers raw insight into her inner world during and after captivity. The lyrics "Fighting not to remember / Promising not to break / But even so, how time passes... Even when my head gets confused / I remember how everything is better / And how there's no place like home" reflect both resilience and vulnerability, wrapped in haunting melody.

Gilboa collaborated with Israeli musician Gil Vain on the song, whom she thanked publicly for helping shape her story into music. The full track remains untitled, but its emotional power is already resonating with listeners who have followed her journey.

“Today, after a year of working on myself, I feel more confident in opening my heart,” Gilboa shared. Once reluctant to speak about her experience, she now embraces the courage it takes to be seen not just as a survivor, but as an artist.

Her release in January 2025, alongside fellow hostages Naama Levy, Karina Ariev, and Liri Albag, marked a turning point in the long, painful saga of October 7. The young women, taken from their IDF post in a coordinated Hamas assault, were among the most emblematic cases of the hostage crisis that shocked the world and rallied Israelis across the political spectrum.

Gilboa's decision to turn her story into song is more than personal therapy it is a public act of defiance, healing, and hope. Her voice, once silenced in the dark tunnels of Gaza, now echoes in music that speaks for many.

In a nation that continues to process the trauma of war and captivity, her courage reminds us that light can emerge from even the darkest places and sometimes, it sings.

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