Eliya Cohen, who was released after 18 months in Hamas captivity, revealed in an interview with Ynet yesterday (Thursday) the terrifying yet courageous moments during an escape attempt that nearly succeeded. Cohen described how he took advantage of a moment of confusion when his captors panicked during a bombing and fled—only to be recaptured after a local Gazan recognized him as Jewish.
The failed escape
In the gripping interview, Cohen recounted the dramatic escape: one day in captivity, rumors spread about an imminent airstrike. The guards panicked and ran, and Eliya seized the opportunity to escape along with several other hostages.
“I told them, ‘Let’s run, are you serious?’ You could call it instinct, maybe a gut feeling. So we started running down the street,” he recalled.
But the attempt failed. While fleeing, a local Gazan noticed them and identified them as Jews. The owner of the house where they had been held confronted the man and managed to persuade him to return the hostages inside. They were eventually hidden in a nearby grocery store until the danger had passed.
“The bombings kept going. We returned to the house and slept on rubble for two months,” Cohen said.
What captivity looked like
Cohen described captivity as a living hell, filled with hunger, humiliation, and constant danger.
“It was like going through Yom Kippur for months on end, with the pre-fast meal being a pita shared among four people,” he said. He also recounted the physical and verbal abuse he endured at the hands of his captors.
There were moments when he believed he wouldn’t survive.
“When we tried to escape, we looked at each other and said, ‘This could be the end.’ I told myself—I’ve made it three months. Whatever’s going to happen will happen.”
Determined to move forward
After his release, Cohen expressed a sense of victory by flashing a “V” sign with his hand in front of the terrorists.
“They whistled and got angry, afraid I might do something on stage. In that moment—they were afraid of me. And I had won,” he said with pride.
Today, Eliya Cohen is focusing on rebuilding his life and volunteering with children battling cancer. He describes this work as part of his healing:
“I didn’t want to stay in bed feeling sorry for myself. I want to live, marry my fiancée Ziv Abud, and start a family.”
“I want to return to a normal life”
Despite the lasting physical wounds—including a gunshot injury to his leg—Cohen chooses to move forward.
“I don’t want to live in constant fear about how I’ll make it through the month. I want to return to a normal life,” he concluded resolutely.
