A devastated father has shared a chilling phone call from his daughter during Hamas’ attack on an Israeli music festival where at least 260 people were massacred and others taken hostage.
In an interview with CNN’s Erin BurnettIlan Regev played out the heartbreaking phone call he received from his daughter Maya, 21, when she and her brother Itay, 18, were kidnapped by Hamas.
“Daddy, they shot me, they shot me!” Maya said in a phone call to her father on Oct. 7, amid the gunfire. “He’s killing us, daddy, he’s killing us.”
Ilan was heard telling Maya to give her location and find a place to hide, saying, “I’m coming.”
Ilan jumped into his car from his home in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv, and sped south to the festival site, where he was denied entry.
A devastated father has shared a chilling phone call from his daughter during Hamas’ attack on an Israeli music festival where at least 260 people were massacred and others taken hostage
In the interview, Ilan is seen breaking down as he becomes overwhelmed with emotion as he listens again to his daughter’s heartbreaking cries and pleas.
In the interview, Ilan can be seen breaking down as he becomes overwhelmed with emotions as he listens again to his daughter’s heartbreaking cries and pleas.
Maya has not been seen since she went missing, but a friend sent Ilan a video of Itay being held hostage by Hamas.
Maya, 21, (left) and her brother Itay, 18, (right) were at the Tribe of Nova music festival when they were taken hostage
“I think he’s still alive now,” Ilan said of his son. “I don’t know, but the shooting didn’t kill him. They informed us.’
The sibling’s mother, Mirit, said she had received messages from Maya saying everything was fine and she was waiting for police to let them go.
It is believed that Maya Mirit also sent a message saying ‘I love you’ to her mother.
Burnett said Ilan and Mirit shared the call because they want the world to “pay attention and care.”
The gruesome call was in stark contrast to the evening the siblings left for the Tribe of Nova music festival on October 7.
About 260 people were killed and dozens more kidnapped among the approximately 3,500 people who flocked from all over the world to celebrate the values of “free love and free spirit, conservation of the environment and appreciation of natural values” expressed by the festival were promoted.
“Mom, I’ll unpack my suitcase when I get back,” Maya said to her mother on Friday evening, in a hurry to get on the road. Associated press reported. ‘See you tomorrow.’
It was a typical activity for the duo, who both love being on the road, getting together with friends and especially traveling, their parents said.
Maya has not been seen since she went missing, but a friend sent Ilan a video of Itay being held hostage by Hamas (pictured)
The call was also shared in an Instagram post on an account advocating for the siblings’ safe return
Maya had already bought her ticket for a longer trip to South America in December.
But early the next morning, Ilan’s phone rang, with a panicked Maya on the other end of the line.
“I want to know that my children are alive,” Ilan told the outlet.
Mirit added, “We don’t know if they are eating. We don’t know if they drink. If they’re hurt.’
It comes as families of the more than 200 people the Israeli army says were taken hostage by Hamas militants are hopeful after news that two hostages have been released.
Judith and Natalie Raanan, an American woman and her teenage daughter, were released and reunited with family. It was the first release of hostages by Hamas.