Nova Festival Survivor Recounts Harrowing 505 Days in Hamas Captivity

Three years after the October 7th Hamas attacks, Eliya Cohen, who was abducted from the Nova music festival and held captive in Gaza for 505 days, has shared a detailed account of his ordeal on Instagram. Cohen posted photos from the day of his abduction, describing the moments he was taken from a shelter where he was hiding with his partner, Ziv Avod. He recounted realizing the gravity of the situation while already in Gaza, recalling being loaded into a pickup truck with a shattered leg from gunshot wounds, believing everyone in the shelter had been murdered.

Cohen described the chaos upon arrival at a Gaza hospital, where he witnessed a struggle among Gazan civilians, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad members over who would take the hostages, or more accurately, who would harm them first. He characterized his 505 days in captivity as enduring conditions so dire that he doubts he could ever adequately explain them.

Since his return to Israel, Cohen has been learning to live with his experiences, acknowledging that some days are more difficult than others. He expressed a desire to move forward, build a life with Ziv, and plan for the future, cherishing the life he once could only imagine. Cohen concluded his post by emphasizing his commitment to advocacy and sharing his testimony globally. He believes it is crucial to "strengthen people's faith" and clarify what occurred on October 7th. He stated, "This is our advocacy, and this is also the responsibility I feel, to remember and remind those we lost, and to ensure the story is passed on to future generations."