Former Hamas hostage Daniella Gilboa was apparently forced to fake her own death for a propaganda video. In an interview with Israel’s Channel 12, Orly Gilboa, Daniella’s mother, detailed the horrifying ordeal.

“One of the captors just came to her with a camera and said, ‘Daniella, today we’re going to film you dead.’  She of course pleaded for her life and asked him not to do it,” Orly Gilboa told Channel 12. Gilboa also said that her daughter was covered in debris and powder to make it seem like she was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

In November 2024, Hamas claimed that Gilboa was killed in an Israeli airstrike, producing the video of her “dead body” as proof. However, Gilboa was in fact alive and was released from captivity on Jan. 25, 2025, alongside Liri Albag, Naama Levy and Karina Ariev.

Released Israeli hostage Daniella Gilboa, a soldier who was seized from her army base in southern Israel during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, is embraced by her parents after being released as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in an unknown location, in a handout photo obtained by Reuters on Jan. 25, 2025.  (Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS)

Following Hamas’ release of the video, the IDF said in a statement that it was investigating the situation. The IDF also condemned the release of the video, saying “Hamas continues to engage in psychological terror and act with extreme brutality.”

Hamas made videos of multiple hostages, including Yarden Bibas, whose wife and two young sons were also kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023. Bibas is seen in the Hamas video, which was released in November 2023, breaking down as he is told that his family was killed. The fate of Bibas’ wife, Shiri, and their sons, Ariel and Kfir, remains unknown.

Gilboa, Albag, Levy and Ariev were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from an IDF base in southern Israel during the attacks on Oct. 7, 2023. Agam Berger, who was taken hostage with the other female soldiers, was held for an extra week alone. She was released from Hamas captivity on Jan. 30, 2025.

Former Hamas hostages Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Daniela Gilboa and Karina Ariev watch as fellow hostage Agam Berger is released. (Courtesy: IDF)

Hamas and Israel were engaged in a ceasefire. However, the terrorist organization threatened to stop hostage releases. President Donald Trump then gave Hamas a deadline of Saturday, Feb. 15, at 12 p.m. to release the remaining hostages.

“If all the Gaza hostages aren’t returned by Saturday at 12 p.m., I would say cancel the ceasefire,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “Let all hell break out. Israel can override it.”

Trump stressed that Hamas needs to release “all of them, not in drips and drabs.”  

Israel’s security cabinet backed President Trump’s threat, and Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a statement that if the hostages are not released by the deadline, they “will resume intense combat until Hamas is decisively defeated.” 

On Thursday, Hamas announced it would free three more Israeli hostages as originally planned, according to the Associated Press.

Greg Norman contributed to this report.