An Israeli man held hostage by Hamas for 505 days will marry his fiancee on Tuesday, telling the Mirror: "It will be the happiest day of my life." Eliya Cohen, 29, had believed his girlfriend Ziv Abud was dead after the October 7 attacks, as he last saw her hidden under dead bodies in a shelter while gunmen shot him and took him to Gaza.
Wedding after captivity
Cohen said: "This is to be a day I could not even imagined during my 505 days in captivity. It is by far the happiest moment in my life." He added: "For the first week after I discovered she was alive and I hugged her so tight, I just kept staring at her all day and all night. Was this real or was I just dreaming and deluded? I had been convinced my beloved Ziv had been killed."
He had promised not to get engaged until all fellow hostages were freed. After their release, he set up a heart of white roses with the words "Will you marry me?" in English and Hebrew. Ziv, 28, said yes, and the couple now look forward to a "blissfully happy married couple" life, hoping for a country "fully at peace".
October 7 and release
Over 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage on October 7 when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel. Cohen was freed on February 22, 2025, amid negotiations over hostage release, prisoner exchange, and a ceasefire. The attack sparked a fierce Israeli response, with bombardment of Gaza killing tens of thousands of Palestinians and occupation of territory, leading to wider Middle East conflict and diplomatic efforts.
After his release, the couple visited London and gave interviews. Cohen described his ordeal: "Amid the gunfire we had run into a hitchhiking shelter, but the gunmen began firing and throwing hand-grenades. One of those sheltering kept throwing the grenades back till he was blown up. I hugged Ziv and kept telling her 'I love you' and she said the same. I said: 'We'll meet again -- up in Heaven.' Then I threw dead bodies over her and crawled in next to her. But the gunmen found me alive and shot my leg. I passed out, and the next thing I knew I was being driven though Gaza, being hit and jeered at."
