Israeli filmmaker Tom Shoval fears friend is being held in Gaza and calls for all options to be explored: ‘I don’t need a party, right or wrong, I need action’

Israeli filmmaker Tom Shoval has expressed his growing fear for former actor and friend David Cunio trapped in Gaza and called on the Israeli government to explore all possible means, including a ceasefire, to secure his release and that of securing all hostages.

Cunio, his wife, three preschool children, his sister-in-law and her young daughter were among more than 200 people kidnapped by Hamas during the brutal terror attack in southern Israel on October 7 that left 1,300 dead.

“I try to think about what feeling I should talk about. Should I be cautious or brave, frontal or complex? What angle does the case offer that I need now? “In the midst of disaster, I don’t need a party, right or wrong, I need action,” Shoval wrote in a heartfelt message to Deadline.

“So I will simply write as a person who finds himself in the middle of a war zone after the horrific criminal attack on October 7 and sees destruction and death in an endless cycle of violence. That is why I have to speak about those close to me, about those who were kidnapped, about my friend, his family,” he continued.

“I want to shout to him, have a clear voice: release the hostages, their lives are at stake.” I believe it is the Israeli government’s responsibility to its citizens to return these hostages as quickly as possible, at any cost.

Shoval’s call came as Israel stepped up its military operation in the Gaza Strip over the weekend, as Israeli soldiers entered Palestinian territory exactly three weeks after Hamas atrocities in the south of the country.

Friends and relatives of the hostages expressed concern about the operation, fearing it could put their loved ones in further danger. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the release of the hostages was an “integral” part of the military operation.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, more than 8,000 Gazans have been killed in Israeli bombings so far.

Shoval said no stone should be left unturned – be it a ceasefire, a halt to the bombing of Gaza or covert negotiations – to bring the hostages back alive.

“Every minute they’re not there, innocent civilians, old people, children, babies, is pure madness, it’s as simple as that,” he wrote.

“I hope that the film community, my colleagues and friends who stand in solidarity with the abuses in the world will also help raise awareness of this issue. I have no way of knowing how. “Anyway, it’s possible,” he continued.

“I pray always and everywhere for the end of violence and suffering.”

Testimony from 85-year-old grandmother Yocheved Lifschitz, one of four hostages released by Hamas, revealed that the prisoners are being held in separate groups in a complex network of tunnels under the Gaza Strip.

The World Health Organization (WHO) called on Hamas to provide signs of life and evidence to provide medical care and the immediate release of all abductees on humanitarian and health grounds.

Shoval befriended Cunio through his breakthrough 2013 film youthin which he plays the actor opposite his twin brother Eitan as two wayward siblings who kidnap a classmate.

Deadline contacted Shoval two and a half weeks ago when news of Cunio’s abduction broke, but the filmmaker said that after initially commenting to raise awareness, he stopped talking to the media out of respect for Cunio’s intended family, who were afraid of publicity. can have an adverse effect.

“After a while, they understood that it was important to create awareness,” he said.

Shoval talks about how he first learned of Cunio’s kidnapping from producer Gal Greenspan, who also produced youth as well as his second feature film Shake off your worries.

A few days before the Hamas attacks, the filmmaker returned to his family in Tel Aviv from Berlin, where he is busy developing a TV series.

“It was early days, everyone was shocked and had little information. I felt a deep pain, as if someone had torn a piece of my heart. The uncertainty was hell,” he wrote.

“David and Eitan, his brother, are close to my heart. I cast them in the film because their strong bond as real twin brothers was so evident and because it was a film about brotherhood and I wanted to capture that unique visual connection.

“It was heartbreaking for me to hear the brothers were separated.” I am in contact with the family. You know how life is. They have families and live in the South, and I work and have a family of my own, but we occasionally spoke or texted. I love you very much. Her appearance in my film was like a confidence boost that gave me the strength to go ahead and make my dreams come true.”