Later that day, Hamas released footage on social media showing Levy in the Gaza Strip, hands tied behind her back, as armed militants dragged her from the trunk of a Jeep and forced her inside the vehicle.

One of the first viral videos of the Israel–Hamas war,[3] the footage showed Levy with multiple visible injuries and a large bloodstain on the seat of her gray sweatpants, which gave rise to widespread speculation that she had been sexually abused.

On 22 May 2024, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum released footage compiled from Hamas militants' bodycams, showing Levy and other female soldiers being held captive at the surveillance base on the morning of 7 October.

[7][14] Footage posted by Hamas later that day (according to Reuters), and widely circulated online, showed Levy in the Gaza Strip, barefoot, bruised, and cut, with her hands tied behind her back, and wounds on her ankles.

[21] On 16 July 2024, in a further bid to renew pressure for a hostage deal, Levy's family approved the release of a photo from the early days of her captivity, showing her with a black eye and a swollen face.

[8] Levy Shachar also wrote an op-ed criticizing international organizations and women's groups for not acknowledging or condemning sexual violence committed during the 7 October attacks.

[24] In March 2024, her brother Amit Levy shared her story during a meeting with the United Kingdom All-Party Parliamentary Group, led by MPs Stephen Crabb and Margaret Hodge, organized in partnership with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Her comments came before a meeting with Netanyahu and other family members of the remaining female IDF soldiers still held by Hamas, where she expected to push for negotiations about a potential hostage deal.

[30][31] On 25 January, Levy and fellow IDF observers Liri Albag, Karina Ariev and Daniella Gilboa were handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross in Palestine Square in Gaza.

[34][35] Following her release, it was reported that Levy and other members of her all-female IDF observer unit had documented, prior to being taken hostage, unusual practice raids and drills by Hamas taking place on the Gaza side of the border fence.