President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday hosted captivity survivor Eliya Cohen, and the two issued a joint call for the immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
Standing alongside Cohen, Herzog said, “I stand here next to Eliya Cohen, who spent 505 days in the tunnels, enduring the worst kind of hell. Thank God he is now with us, reunited with his mother and with Ziv, his beloved. We want to see everyone back home. The heart of the entire nation of Israel trembles, hurts, and aches. I deeply hope, cry out, and call - together with all of Israel - to take all possible and necessary steps to bring them home as quickly as possible.”
Cohen added, “Our hearts are with you, with all the families of the hostages, both the living and those who need burial. May they return home soon, with God's help.”
Sigi Cohen, Eliya’s mother, expressed her hope that others would soon share in the relief she experienced. “I wish that just as I received Eliya back home, they will do what needs to be done to bring everyone home. Every mother and every wife deserves to have her son, her loved one, back - whether alive or fallen. Every day that passes does not return, and it is very difficult.”
The President’s wife, Michal Herzog, echoed the call, saying, “We are truly crying out. Sigi and I spoke about the need to stand with the families and to issue a strong, united call so that all of them can be reunited and experience the joy that Sigi felt when Eliya came home. We pray this will happen for all the families.”