Sharon Aloni Cunio, twins Yuli and Emma, 3, freed; father David still in Gaza
Danielle Aloni, 44, and daughter Emilia, 5, members of wider family, were returned to Israel on November 24
Sharon Aloni Cunio, 34, and twin daughters, Yuli and Emma, 3, were released on November 27 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel. The twins’ father David, 34, is still held in Gaza. Their relatives Danielle Aloni, 44, and daughter Emilia, 5, were released on November 24. This is the story of their capture:
Kibbutz Nir Oz residents David Cunio, 34, and Sharon Aloni Cunio, 34, and their three-year-old twin daughters, Yuli and Emma, 3, were visited by Sharon’s sister, Danielle Aloni, 44, and her five-year-old daughter Emilia on October 7 when they were all abducted by Hamas terrorists.
The rest of the Aloni family, Sharon and Danielle’s sister and parents, began messaging them when missile alerts began in various parts of the country.
At first, Sharon said they didn’t know much, just that they were safe in the sealed room, and had been told there were terrorists in the kibbutz, not a first-time occurrence.
An hour later, Sharon wrote that they could hear terrorists in her neighbor’s house. Half an hour later, she texted that the terrorists were in her house and she wasn’t sure they were going to make it.
Another hour and a half later, Sharon sent a voice message that the terrorists had set the house on fire, and smoke was getting under the door of the sealed room. The last message was at 11:20 a.m.
Hours later, the sisters’ family members were able to get in touch with David Cunio’s family, who also live on Nir Oz. The surviving family members said they had already checked the Cunios’ house and hadn’t found anyone.
Later that day, a TikTok video circulated that appeared to show David, Sharon and one of the twins on the back of a pickup truck with Hamas terrorists.
Six days later, the Aloni family was informed that all six were officially recognized as kidnapped by Hamas and in Gaza.
On October 30, Danielle Aloni was one of three women who appeared in a propaganda video released by Hamas.
David Cunio’s brother, Ariel Cunio, was also taken hostage with his girlfriend, Arbel Yehud, and Arbel’s brother, Dolev Yehud.
Ariel sent a message to another Cunio brother, Eitan, which read: “We are in a horror film.”
All four Cunio brothers were born and raised at Kibbutz Nir Oz.
