From Darkness to Dawn: Tal Shoham’s Harrowing Tale of Captivity and Unyielding Spirit
Tal Shoham, a survivor of unimaginable ordeal, has emerged from the depths of Hamas captivity to share his harrowing story with Fox News Digital. For nearly a year and a half, he endured unimaginable conditions, trapped deep beneath the surface of Gaza, with scarce air, no light, and only a sliver of space to share with three fellow hostages. His tale is one of resilience, unwavering hope, and a burning determination to preserve humanity in the face of unspeakable cruelty.
Shoham’s nightmare began on October 7, 2023, during the devastating Hamas attack on Kibbutz Be’eri. He, along with his wife and two young children, ages four and eight, were caught in the crossfire of the terror assault. In a desperate act to protect his family, Shoham surrendered to the terrorists just before they ignited their home. He was thrown into the trunk of a car and spirited away to Gaza, unsure of his family’s fate.
For eight and a half months, Shoham was confined to an underground tunnel. Later he was moved to a sequence of five different houses deep within Gaza where he languished for another five months. His captors held him shackled, subjected him to starvation, and deprived him of basic human necessities.
Despite the extreme deprivation, Shoham refused to surrender to despair. He was determined to maintain his humanity. "I am not a victim," he resolved. "Even if this ends, I will end it with my head high, looking death in the eyes. They won’t break me, and I will not surrender to self-pity. We are stronger than the other side."
Three weeks after his release, Shoham decided to break his silence. He recognized the vast divide between the relative peace of his home in Kibbutz Be’eri and the brutal reality of Gaza. "Half-an-hour’s drive, two separate worlds," he described. "The first – unbelievably surreal, cruel beyond reason. And just 30 minutes away [on this side of the border], a world of sanity, logic, dignity, and compassion."
His meticulous memory of the 505 days in captivity fuels his desire to share his story for the sake of the two fellow captives still held: Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal. He feels a responsibility to speak for them, to shed light on their suffering, and to advocate for their freedom. "Just as someone emerges from a womb alive, I emerged from the tunnel I was held in and was born again," he says. But his "brothers," Evyatar and Guy, remain trapped in the darkness. "I can’t sleep at night knowing they are still there," he confided.
Shoham, his wife, and children had traveled from the north of Israel to Kibbutz Be’eri to celebrate the Simchat Torah holiday with his wife’s family. When the attack commenced, they sought refuge in the safe room. But as the sounds of gunfire grew closer, they realized the terrorists were breaching their sanctuary. The terrorists pried open the window, and Shoham, fearing a grenade attack, made the excruciating decision to surrender. Homes on the same street were set ablaze. "I went out and raised my hands," he recounted. "A man with murder in his eyes led me onto the road and to a vehicle. I saw about 40 heavily armed terrorists. Some of them were filming me on their phones. I was in shock — there was an entire battalion of Hamas terrorists inside our kibbutz, bodies of people I knew who were murdered on the ground, and they are laughing, unafraid."
Thrust into the trunk of a car, Shoham was transported across the border into Gaza. Upon arrival, he faced a terrifying welcome. "Teenagers with sticks ran toward me, trying to beat me from all sides," he said. His captors attempted to force him to kneel, pointing a rifle at him. "I said, ‘I can’t control whether you kill me or not,’ and I raised my hands — but I refused to kneel. ‘If you want to kill me, kill me, but you will not execute me like ISIS.’"
He was paraded through the streets. "They were shouting, ‘Soldier! Pig! Zionist!’ A mob gathered around, boys with wooden clubs trying to hit me. But I just waved and smiled. I didn’t show fear. ‘You’ve captured me, but you won’t see terror in my eyes.’"
For the initial 34 days, Shoham was confined in the home of a family. He remained shackled and isolated. Basic provisions were scarce. "For the first three days, I had pita bread. Then, they stopped giving me that," he stated. "Food supplies dwindled. Some days, I would receive three spoons of avocado and three dates, or half an orange from a tree in the yard."
The relentless uncertainty surrounding his family’s fate was a constant torment. "I am 40 years old. Never in my life have I experienced suffering like this. The isolation, being alone with relentless thoughts — that was worse than even extreme hunger." To cope, Shoham made a painful choice. "I had to accept that my family was dead," he said. "I sat on the floor and imagined myself at their funeral. I stood in front of a grave — one large for my wife, and two small for my children — and I eulogized each of them. I thanked them for the time we had. I told them to move on. I sobbed but didn’t let my captors see me cry. That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done — burying my family in my mind."
On the 34th day, Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal joined him. The terrorists subjected them to daily torture. The hostages were allowed only about 300 calories a day and forbidden from speaking. "We couldn’t move from our beds or talk. We whispered everything," Shoham said. Shoham’s weight plummeted from 174 pounds to 110 pounds.
A glimmer of hope emerged on the 50th day when Shoham received proof of life from his wife. A letter informed him that she and the children were being held hostage but would be released. "I read it, my hands shaking," he stated. "The most important thing had happened — my family was safe. I didn’t need to be a father and husband protecting them anymore. Now, I could focus on my war, the one I knew how to fight, the one for survival."
In June 2024, Shoham, Guy, and Evyatar were transported to an underground tunnel. They shared a small space with another captive, Omer Wenkert. "It took me weeks to stop feeling like the walls were closing in, to adapt to the oxygen deprivation," Shoham says. They were given just over 10 ounces of water a day and rice was the only food. They were beaten, monitored by cameras, and randomly deprived of food and sleep. The guards were Hamas tunnel diggers who continued to dig every day. "Hamas never stopped digging tunnels," Shoham says.
Severe infections plagued Shoham and Evyatar. They received blood thinners to address potential blood clots from prolonged immobility. Ultimately, malnutrition was identified as the underlying cause and they were provided with vitamin supplements.
A particularly brutal guard arrived, inflicting further physical and psychological abuse. Shoham and Omer were eventually named in a hostage-release deal in February. "Is it rain?" Shoham asked when he felt moisture on his face upon emerging from the tunnel after many months underground. "No," his captors responded, "It is dew." Shoham realized his name, Tal, is Hebrew for ‘dew’.
Before being handed over to the Red Cross, Shoham was forced to participate in a humiliating propaganda display in Rafah. But he was going home. At the Re’im base, Shoham was reunited with his wife, Adi, and their two children. "It was a dream come true, yet it still felt like a dream," Shoham said. He had to absorb the tragic news that eleven members of his family were killed or kidnapped. Despite the sorrow, he recognized the unwavering spirit of the hostages. "Among us, the Jewish hostages, there was purity," he said. "There was dignity. The terrorists brought in whatever horrors they wanted, inflicted whatever cruelty and pain they could, imposed their inhumanity on us. But within our space, we preserved our inner cleanliness, our humanity between one another. And that was crucial to making it out unbroken."
