RELEASED: Itay Regev will reunite with sister Maya, both abducted from Supernova
Older sister Maya was released on November 25 and immediately brought to hospital for surgery
Itay Regev was released on November 29 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel. Sister Maya, 21, was released on November 25. This is the story of their capture:
The last time Itay, 18, and Maya, 21, Regev’s father spoke to his two older children before their capture by Hamas terrorists was in the frantic early morning hours of Saturday, October 7, when the two siblings were trying to escape Hamas gunmen at the Supernova desert rave.
Father Ilan Regev Gerby has a recording of Maya’s voice during the terrorist attack, screaming, “They shot me, they shot me, they shot me!”
Maya’s father speaks calmly in the recording, telling her to send her location and asking her where she is.
“He’s killing me, he’s killing me, he’s killing us! Itay, go to the wheel,” screams Maya.
“Where are you?” asks her father. “I can’t, I can’t, we are dead, they shot us,” Maya screamed. “I love you.”
Maya’s father tried to get their location, but there was no time. He told them to hide, but they couldn’t heed his call.
It was a few hours later that a Hamas video surfaced on social media, showing the two siblings bound and tied on the back of a pickup truck.
The two siblings had landed in Israel on Friday, October 6, after celebrating their mother Mirit’s birthday abroad, and drove down to the music party at Re’im, an event they’d been planning for weeks.
“She loves life, she makes plans, she leads and brings others with her,” said Mirit of Maya. “Itay, he loves to surf, to laugh, to live.”
Mirit only found out what was happening at the desert rave around 10 a.m. on Saturday morning, when she woke up to several missed calls from Maya and other friends.
As the nightmare continued to unfold, the siblings’ father drove down south, trying to locate them in hospitals, scouring communities and other areas where survivors were gathering, but to no avail.
“They went to a party to enjoy themselves,” said father Ilan. “I don’t care about politics, I just want my children back healthy, and in one piece.”
Maya was released on November 25, 2023. She had been shot in the leg at the Supernova music festival on October 7 before she was kidnapped to the Strip.
She was brought straight to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba for medical treatment, underwent surgery, and is expected to make a full recovery.
