Former Hostage David Cunio Reveals Harrowing Ordeal in Gaza

In an emotional interview with Israel’s Channel 12, former Gaza hostage David Cunio recounted the psychological torment and physical suffering he endured during nearly two years in captivity and the fragile hope he clung to in the darkest moments.

Cunio, 35, was kidnapped from his home on October 7, 2023, alongside his wife Sharon, their twin daughters Yuli and Emma, his sister-in-law Danielle Aloni, and his niece. They were hiding in a safe room when Hamas terrorists set the house on fire. Cunio tried to block the smoke with a towel before fleeing out the window with Yuli, only to be captured outside. Sharon and the others were also seized and taken separately to Gaza.

“I saw Sharon out of the corner of my eye being dragged by one of the terrorists,” he recalled. “I shouted, ‘My wife, my wife!’”

Their vehicle came under fire from an IDF helicopter en route to Gaza. The strike killed a kibbutz member and wounded Cunio, Sharon, and Yuli with shrapnel. In the chaos, they had no idea what happened to Emma.

Once in Gaza, Cunio tried to shield his wife and daughter, even while plotting impossible escape scenarios. “I’d see the guards sleeping… and the knife under the bed,” he said. “But I had no real way out.”

On the tenth day of the war, their holding house was bombed, and they were transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. There, they were finally reunited with Emma malnourished, sick, and unable to recognize her own parents. Sharon calmed her by singing a beloved children’s song.

On day 49, Sharon and the twins were released in a hostage deal. “The worst moment of my life,” said Cunio, “was when I was separated from them.” He pleaded with fellow captives not to give up on him.

Shortly after, Cunio was moved into Hamas’s tunnel network beneath Gaza, where he remained for the rest of his captivity. In the suffocating underground world, he faced starvation living on half a pita and a cup of water per day. “You could hear people's stomachs,” he said. “We begged for another spoon of jam.”

He described endless hours walking through tunnels, the mental collapse of fellow hostages, and how he kept himself grounded. “I had a hair tie from my girls in my pocket, and bracelets I made from date pits,” he said. “I’d talk to them. I told them they were the most precious thing in my life.”

The Hamas guards tried to break him. “They told me my wife had moved on, that she might be with someone else,” he shared. “It was a lie, but when you’re down there, it starts to feel real.”

He was also misled about his twin brother, Eitan. At one point, Hamas told him Eitan was there but it turned out to be another hostage, Eitan Horn. The two men became close, but Cunio admitted he couldn’t say Horn’s name without breaking down. It wasn’t until the final day of captivity that he learned his brother was alive.

On October 8, 2025, David was finally told he was being released. He was reunited with his younger brother Ariel, also taken hostage. A video call with his family confirmed the miracle: “Everyone was alive,” he said. “Everyone.”

When he embraced his daughters for the first time in nearly two years, he trembled. “All I wanted was for them to run up to me and hug me.”

He was struck by how much they’d grown. “Their hair was long. Their speech had changed. The little things they were all different.”

Now, back home in Israel, Cunio is rebuilding his life and family. “It’s not easy,” he admitted. “But they’re slowly coming to trust me again. Things are starting to get back in place.”

His story is a raw and powerful reminder of the human cost of Hamas’s brutality and the enduring strength of the Israeli spirit, even in the face of unimaginable darkness.

Help others hear this story. Share it or subscribe to our newsletter for more updates from Israel.