Eliya Cohen, who was released from Hamas captivity after 505 days on Saturday, will be returning home to discover that his girlfriend, Ziv Abud, survived the October 7 Hamas attacks.
The two had sought refuge in a shelter now known as the “death bunker.” Of those who hid there, 16 were killed by terrorists, four were taken hostage, and seven were rescued by Israeli forces.
Cohen was released alongside Omer Wenkert and Omer Shem Tov from Hamas in Nuseirat after a brief propaganda ceremony. The three were then transferred to a reception point in southern Israel where they reunited with their families.
Abud has previously been very vocal on social media about the fact that Cohen was unaware of her fate for over 500 days.
Abud herself survived the Hamas massacre on October 7, having gone to the music festival together with Cohen.
“I was buried under the bodies for six hours, and after six hours, a man came to look for his son. And when he came to look for his son, based on the location his son had sent him, he found me and five other people,” she told Reuters in an interview in April 2024.
Abud’s message to Cohen
“I often think about the moment you return,” wrote Abud on Instagram. “How will you react when you find out that I’m alive? And what will I tell you? How will I tell you about Amit, Yonatan, and [the] hundreds of our friends who are no longer alive?
“I can’t explain how painful it is to know that you are suffering, that you are hungry, that it is difficult for you, but that you are also strong. I want you to know that during this entire period, you were not only shackled by your feet but also in the hearts of everyone who loves you.
“I know that what happened and is happening to you in captivity is unimaginable and that you are going through one of the most difficult things. And it is so hard to be here without an option to make things easier for you, without the ability to hug you,” Abud wrote.
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