October 7 · Personal story
Eliya Cohen
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Nova music festival near Re’im, southern Israel
Current outcome
Released alive · February 22, 2025
Released from captivity after 505 days, during the hostage agreement.
01
Before October 7
Eliya Cohen loved electronic and techno music. Before October 7, he organized parties and brought international artists to Israel. He had recently begun working in sales and real estate. His mother described him as happy, charismatic, and a leader who made friends wherever he traveled. He and his partner, Ziv Aboud, lived, slept and worked together. They were building a future together, and Eliya had planned to propose. They went to the Nova party near Re’im together.
02
Abduction at Nova
On October 7, rocket alerts sounded over Nova. Eliya told Ziv he did not want to stay; she said she would get them out. They took shelter with other people, including Alon Ohel, and believed the army would arrive. Armed men later approached in pickup trucks and threw grenades inside. Eliya lay over Ziv and told her he loved her. Aner Shapira caught grenades and threw them back out. Eliya and Ziv hid under the bodies of people who had been killed, tapping each other to check they were alive. Eliya was shot, pulled from the shelter, and taken toward Gaza. During the drive, he saw another captive jump from the truck. The gunmen stopped and shot him. Ziv survived injured and later described being pulled apart from Eliya.
03
In captivity
Eliya spent 505 days in Gaza. After the abduction, he saw himself in a mirror covered in blood and burned skin. A man who said he was a doctor removed a bullet from Eliya’s leg without anesthesia. Eliya said he was held with other captives, including Alon Ohel and Or Levy, and spent months in chains. The links cut into his legs and made sleep difficult. Food was scarce: he recalled receiving dry pita and two spoonfuls of beans, then wondering at night how he would get food the next day. He described captors making false promises that everyone would soon go home. He believed Ziv had died in the shelter. The last sentence he remembered from her was that they would be together above, where no one could interfere. He said he carried that thought through captivity.
04
Return
Eliya returned to Israel on February 22, 2025, after 505 days in captivity. Before leaving, he believed the men held with him would soon follow. He encouraged Alon Ohel to keep a routine, exercise and remember his family. At the release ceremony, Eliya raised a V sign while people jeered and threw bottles. After returning, Eliya learned that Ziv had survived. At first, he thought he was being lied to. He told N12 that he would endure another 500 days if it meant hearing again that she was alive.
05
After captivity
In his April 2025 interview, about six weeks after his return, Eliya described rebuilding his strength and weight, establishing a routine, and receiving treatment for his injured leg. He was also dealing with hearing damage and continuing mental rehabilitation. He described the love he received from people he had never met. One of his first journeys after release was to the cemetery, to visit the graves of friends and members of Ziv’s family killed on October 7. He also spoke publicly for those still captive, remembering his promise to Alon that their separation would not be over until they met in Israel. Alon returned alive on October 13, 2025.