Eliya Cohen

Eliya Cohen (Hebrew: אלי-ה כהן; born April 24, 1997) is an Israeli civilian who was kidnapped by Hamas militants and taken to the Gaza Strip during the Nova music festival massacre near Re'im on October 7, 2023.

Cohen was released on February 22, 2025, after 505 days in Hamas captivity, as part of a Gaza ceasefire and hostage exchange agreement.

After his release, Cohen published the autobiography Mufawadat (Arabic: "Negotiation"), describing his experiences in captivity. The book was translated to English and received a Platinum Book award.

Early life Eliya Cohen was born on 24 April 1997 in Beit Shemesh, Israel, to Sigi and Momi Cohen. He is the eldest of four children and has three younger sisters. The family later moved to Tzur Hadassah. Cohen was raised in a Jewish, religious household, Cohen and Abud had a dog named Chapou. Cohen bought an engagement ring and was planning to propose to Abud.

When Hamas militants began throwing grenades into the shelter, now referred to as "the death bunker" or "The shelter of death" , they tried to hide beneath the bodies of victims. Ben Avida and Schwartzman were killed.

Captivity After arriving in Gaza, Cohen underwent the removal of the bullet from his leg by a local doctor using tweezers without anesthesia. According to Cohen, he was instructed not to make any noise during the procedure so that the location where he was being held would not be discovered.

He was initially held in an apartment with Alon Ohel and Or Levy. During the first hostage exchange in November 2023, they were moved into Hamas tunnels, where he met Eli Sharabi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Almog Sarusi and Uri Danino. Several days later, Goldberg-Polin, Sarusi and Danino were taken to another tunnel, while the remaining hostages were falsely told they had been released to Israel as part of what Cohen later described as psychological warfare.

In March 2024, during the Purim holiday, Abud walked through the streets of Tel Aviv wearing a yellow dress resembling a wedding gown decorated with iron chains and photographs of hostages. At its center was a bleeding heart displaying Cohen's photograph.

In August 2024, on the eve of Tu B'Av, Abud staged an installation on the Tel Aviv promenade, sitting beside a fully set dinner table next to an empty chair displaying Cohen's photograph. A video documenting the installation, produced with Israeli news outlet N12, received millions of views online.

In June 2024, footage of Cohen's abduction recorded by Hamas militants was released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum at the request of his family.

During the release ceremony, a Hamas militant demanded that Cohen wave to the crowd, and when he refused, the militant raised his hand by force.

Post release activities In August 2025, approximately five months after his release, Cohen published the autobiography Mufawadat (Arabic: "Negotiation"), describing his experiences in captivity. Two months after its publication, the book received a Platinum Book award. It was also translated and published in English.

In late October 2025, Cohen co-produced the Vortex Festival at Shitim together with former hostage Omer Wenkert. The event was dedicated to Amit Ben Avida, the nephew of Cohen's partner Ziv Abud, who was killed during the 7 October attack. In December 2025, Cohen and Abud met U.S. President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence.

Cohen became engaged to Abud in October 2025. They were married on 19 August at Ronit Farm in Israel, with over 1,000 friends and relatives attending.

In April 2026, Cohen went through complex surgery on his foot that was shattered from gunfire shot by Hamas militants into the Shelter of Death in which he was hiding on October 7, 2023.