Daijiworld Media Network – Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv, Jan 13: Former Gaza hostage David Cunio has revealed harrowing details of his captivity, saying his Hamas captors repeatedly lied to him that his wife had “moved on” in an attempt to psychologically break him.

In an interview with Israel’s N12 channel, Cunio recounted being abducted from his home on October 7, 2023, along with his wife Sharon Aloni Cunio and their twin daughters, Yuli and Emma. The family had taken shelter in their safe room when terrorists set their house on fire, forcing them to flee. During the chaos, the family was separated and taken hostage to Gaza.

Cunio said he was wounded by shrapnel while being transported, along with his wife and one daughter, and for days had no information about the fate of his other child. The family was later reunited briefly at a hospital in Khan Yunis before being separated again, when his wife and daughters were released under a deal, leaving him behind in captivity.

Describing his time in Hamas tunnels, Cunio spoke of severe physical and psychological torture, extreme hunger, darkness, and long forced walks underground. He said captors deliberately spread false information about his family, including claims that his wife had found someone else. “No matter how fake it sounds, in there it felt completely real,” he said.

Cunio added that small personal items belonging to his daughters helped him survive mentally during captivity. He was finally released in October 2025 and later learned that his brother, whom he had believed dead, was also alive.

Recounting his reunion with his family, Cunio said returning to normal life has been difficult, especially for his young daughters. “It’s not easy to return from captivity and try to build a family as if nothing happened,” he said, adding that healing is a slow but ongoing process.