Eliya Cohen, who was freed from Hamas captivity on Saturday, published a post on Instagram in which he wrote, "May the memory of all those who fell on October 7th be a blessing. May the memory of every soldier who risked their life to bring me back home be a blessing.”
"Thank you so much to every person who contributed, went out to fight for me; every prayer of yours was felt in my heart and soul and strengthened me anew at every moment. We must not forget for a second our brothers who remain behind there, and soon I will join you in the fight for them. I hope that soon I will get to meet everyone and hug all of you. I love you."
Eliya Cohen and his girlfriend, Ziv Abud, arrived together at the Nova party compound on October 7, 2023, and tried to escape when the firing from Gaza began. The two hid in a bomb shelter which Hamas terrorists later attacked with grenades. Ziv survived but Eliya was kidnapped from the shelter along with Or Levy, who was freed as part of the current deal, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was murdered in a tunnel in August along with five other hostages, and Alon Ohel, who is still in captivity.
Only after he was abducted to Gaza did Ziv discover that Eliya had planned to propose to her—and had even already bought a ring. It was only after his release from captivity on Saturday that Eliya discovered that Ziv had survived the October 7 massacre.