Released hostage Eliya Cohen returned today to the roadside bomb shelter where he was abducted during the October 7th massacre.
Cohen put on tefillin at the site and shared the emotional moment on social media. "From the exact spot where I was kidnapped, I return and say the same verse I said just before the abduction, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.'"
The sentence is the beginning of the Shema prayer and is the traditional declaration of Jews facing imminent death.
Cohen also addressed soldiers at the Gaza border: "I want to thank you, you are my heroes. Thank you for getting up every morning and choosing to do this, these are choices that cannot be described in words. I did not choose to be there, you choose to be there and turn over every stone, I love you."
Or Levy was also captured from the same shelter and released from Hamas captivity after 491 days. Also taken from the same shelter were Alon Ohel, still in Gaza, and Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was murdered in captivity.