Elkana Bohbot

Elkana Bohbot (Hebrew: אלקנה בוחבוט; born March 22, 1989), is an Israeli man who was abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023 at the Supernova music festival. He was released after 738 days in captivity.

Background Bohbot was born on March 22, 1989. He is an Israeli resident of Mevaseret Zion, a town near Jerusalem. Prior to his abduction by Hamas, he was employed by a production company specialising in the construction of stages for large-scale events. Bohbot was a logistics manager for the company responsible for producing the Nova Music Festival. In addition to his work in event production, Bohbot was preparing to open a gourmet ice cream shop in Tel Aviv. During his captivity, his family continued to pay rent on a market stall in Tel Aviv, intended for the business.

Kidnapping

On October 7, 2023, Bohbot called his family to inform them that he was helping wounded Nova Party attendees after gunfire erupted at the party. Bohbot's mother, Ruhama, told the Jewish News Syndicate that she was at home with her daughter-in-law, Rivka, and her grandson. After seeing alarming reports on television, Ruhama awoke Rivka and told her that "it looked like war had begun."

At 7:50 a.m., Bohbot received a call from his mother and told her he was helping others evacuate the festival. Rivka called him to warn him about armed terrorists in pickup trucks pretending to be soldiers. Bohbot promised to return home soon. At noon, a friend of Bohbot's called the family to tell them that Elkana had been kidnapped and then shared video proof. A month after his kidnapping, Colombian President Gustavo Petro granted Bohbot Colombian nationality. In the video, Bohbot refers to himself as Prisoner Number 22 and begs to be released from captivity. In April, Bohbot was filmed holding a fake telephone conversation with his wife, Rivka, and their son, Re’em, as well as his mother and brother. In the staged video, Bohbot pleads with his family to help him get out of Gaza.

Following the release of the May video, Bohbot's mother stated that the footage was deeply distressing and uncharacteristic of her son. Speaking to the Jewish News Syndicate, she said the videos left the family “broken” and described them as “another punch to the stomach,” adding that they showed how much danger her son was in rather than offering reassurance. Bohbot later described the conditions of his detention as involving prolonged confinement in darkness, severe deprivation, and repeated physical abuse, alongside sustained psychological pressure directed at his family relationships. During the January 2025 Gaza war ceasefire, Hamas reportedly threatened to execute three of the six hostages and shoot the remaining three in the leg. When the hostages refused to choose who would die, the captors spent hours alternating threats, though none were ultimately carried out.

Efforts to release At the outset of the hostage crisis, Bohbot's family was advised to remain publicly quiet about his captivity. After Bohbot was designated for release in the second phase of the January 2025 Gaza war ceasefire, his wife became more publicly active in advocacy efforts to free the remaining hostages.

Release Bohbot was released from Hamas captivity on October 13, 2025. His wife described the moment as more emotional than her wedding day. In a post-release statement, Rivka Bohbot direct reference to the Israeli government and instead thanked the Israeli public, the Hostages Forum, the IDF and security forces, U.S. President Donald Trump, envoy Steve Witkoff, and the U.S. government for their role in securing her husband’s return.

Rivka Bohbot later shared that her husband was adjusting well to life after captivity, noting with dark humor that he had forgotten some basic household routines, such as putting down the toilet seat. These updates provided rare moments of levity amid an otherwise harrowing account of more than two years in Hamas captivity.

Additional information regarding Bohbot’s treatment during captivity was later shared by his family. His mother stated that Bohbot had been held bound and blindfolded, with his hands and feet restrained. She also relayed Bohbot’s account of being transported in the back of a pickup truck alongside Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa-Dalal, and Bar Kupershtein, during which he was physically assaulted by his captors.

In October 2025, a video of Bohbot returning home was released to the public.