Nova Festival Hostage Survivor Itay Regev Recounts Kidnapping Ordeal

Itay Regev, a survivor of the Nova music festival massacre and a former hostage, has recounted the harrowing events of his abduction on October 7, 2023. Regev, who was cast in the upcoming season of the popular Israeli reality series "Gollstar," described the moment he and his sister Mia were targeted by terrorists.

In a released video clip, Regev details how, as they attempted to flee the festival, they encountered a pickup truck waiting to intercept vehicles. "The moment we turn right, we see a pickup truck waiting for the vehicles to turn right," he stated. "The moment I saw that, I told Mia (his sister, who was also abducted and later released), 'Answer Dad, maybe we won't get out of this, let's say goodbye.' Mia answered Dad, and the moment she answered, they started shooting at us."

Regev described the intense gunfire, recalling how he was shot in the leg and Mia was hit shortly after. "I took a bullet in the leg, Mia took one two seconds later and she started screaming to Dad. The terrorists began to swarm the vehicle," he said. "The terrorist opened the vehicle and took me out first. I begged him not to kill me. He laid me on the road, and then one of them decided to stand on me and put the barrel of his weapon on my head."

He recounted how the terrorist pressed his head to the ground with the gun barrel. "I started singing 'Shir LaMa'alot' (a psalm), and after two minutes, he took the barrel down," Regev said, describing the moment he thought his life was over. Regev was eventually released on November 29, 2023, as part of a hostage exchange deal.