From the moment Segev Kalfon, then-26, was abducted from the Nova Music Festival until hostages were released in February, the Kalfon family had no idea if their son was alive.
The Dimona native was taken while attempting to flee the festival massacre with his friend Asaf Harush. While the pair fled together on October 7, 2023, as terrorists rampaged through southern Israel, they were momentarily separated and Kalfon was abducted while Harush was able to throw himself into some bushes, where he would lay in hiding for seven hours, Harush told Channel 2 in January.
Once Dimona fighters rescued Harush, he rushed to inform Kalfon’s family that he had witnessed their loved one being dragged off by terrorists.
While his family would have normally observed Shabbat with the avoidance of technology, Kalfon’s father told Fox News in June that they had turned on the news and spoke with Kalfon on the phone as he ran from the terrorists. Kalfon had to end the call, promising to return it later once he was safe.
After not hearing from his son, Kalfon’s father recounted how the family traveled to Israel’s South and searched hospitals for any sign of him. “ I was desperately asking everyone if they had seen Segev, praying I might find him among the injured rather than face what I was beginning to fear. Then they called me home because Asaf had returned with devastating news—he had witnessed Segev being kidnapped,” he recounted.
For over a year, the Kalfon family waited for news of their son. It wasn’t until Ohad Ben Ami was released in the February deal that they learned he was alive, though in poor and deteriorating condition.
Galit, Kalfon’s mother, told Ynet in July that her son is a combat veteran with PTSD and old orthopedic injuries. She recounted how Ben Ami, who had become a father figure to Kalfon as they were held together for over a year, told them he was suffering from panic attacks, disassociative episodes and fits of rage.
“His mind is breaking,” Galit said.
As a military veteran, Ben Ami also explained to Galit that Kalfon was being subject to “the worst conditions in Gaza” and was being starved and beaten.
Who was Segev Kalfon before the abduction?
Kalfon is the middle child of three siblings. His father described him as funny, sharp, smart and compassionate. He worked at the family’s bakery in Arad, though was interested in the stock market.
“Segev, when you meet him, first of all he's handsome, you can't help but notice his presence. He has an unusual beauty that you don't see everywhere,” his sister-in-law told Walla the October after he was abducted. “Then he'll probably make you fall over laughing, because that's a very prominent trait of his, his humor, his presence, that's perhaps the thing we miss the most, the joy of life that he would bring to the family, and lighten every situation, and get a laugh out of every situation, that's really a really significant part of his character.”
Describing him as “all heart,” she added that he was always willing to help out anyone in need despite being incredibly shy.