The family of Eitan Levy, who was abducted to the Gaza Strip on October 7 and was confirmed dead since October 7 in December, released on Saturday a chilling video of the abuse of his body near a mosque. Ynet published the video at the family's request but advises viewer discretion.
Eitan Levy's family releases video of his abuse
"With a lot of pain and especially fear to reveal the trauma we went through, we decided to share and release the video of the kidnapping and lynching they carried out against Eitan," the family wrote. "This is the proof that there is no innocent citizen in Gaza. 43 weeks we live in indescribable suffering. 115 abductees were left behind. It's time to bring everyone back home."
In the video, Levy's body is first seen in the open trunk of a moving vehicle. Later, he is seen lying on the ground in his underwear, while an angry mob beats his corpse. "We found the video on November 3, when dad was still reported missing," said his son Shahar and his son's partner, Shir.
"We recognized that it was him, but there was no absolute certainty, so we waited for confirmation from the army officials. In December, they confirmed that it was indeed our dad after a committee convened and determined he was dead. According to what we were told, the video was filmed close to a mosque," he added.
According to the two, "We decided to publish the video after concerns for our feelings and reactions. But, we realized that we had to do it, that we needed to raise awareness for the 115 abductees who are still in this nightmare. We wanted to show what these monsters are doing and what might happen next."
"It's not a situation that can be described in words," added Shahar. "It's gut-wrenching." I hope at least dad didn't suffer. At the same time, there is great concern that he will not return, that he will remain in Gaza without a proper burial. That's the biggest fear. Whether dad will be returned for burial, or not, the hard feelings wash over us every day. I don't know how we will deal with it." Shir said, "it sounds terrible, but there is some consolation that at least he is not suffering in captivity."
Eitan Levy, 53, a taxi driver from Bat Yam, picked up a friend from Rishon Lezion on the morning of October 7 and managed to bring her to Kibbutz Be'eri, a Gaza border community. On his way back to central Israel, while he was talking with his son Shahar on the phone about the rocket fire around him, he encountered terrorists who infiltrated from Gaza.
During the phone call, Shahar heard the screams of the terrorists and the commotion. For about a month and a half, no one knew what happened to him, until it became clear that he had been kidnapped to Gaza. A few weeks later, his family was informed that he had been murdered and that his body was being held by Hamas.