Former hostage Eliya Cohen celebrated his henna ceremony with his fiancée, Ziv Abud, ahead of their upcoming wedding, in an emotional celebration attended by family and friends.
For the occasion, Cohen wore a special traditional robe embroidered with the words "Thank You, Father" - a phrase that, he said, sustained him throughout his 505 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza.
"'Thank You, Father' is a sentence that accompanied me throughout my time in captivity and throughout the entire period since my release," Cohen said.
He explained, "The robe was designed by Kinneret Henna and Jina Laarusa. During the war, every one of their grooms wore this robe, and it bore the words, 'Bring Them Home.' Now that I'm the groom, we decided to replace it with my own phrase, because finally there are no hostages left in Gaza."
Cohen returned to Israel in February 2025, 505 days after he was abducted by Hamas terrorists from the Nova music festival during the October 7 massacre.
While in captivity, he believed his girlfriend, Ziv Abud, had been killed at the roadside bomb shelter where the couple had sought refuge. After his release, he learned that she had survived and had spent the entire time campaigning for his freedom.
Cohen proposed to Abud in October, and the couple is scheduled to marry in August.