What happened
Eliya Cohen, a former Hamas hostage, shared his harrowing experience of 505 days in captivity at the United Nations. Cohen described being chained, denied basic necessities, and subjected to physical and psychological torture. He recounted how he focused on the possibility of returning home to survive.
Cohen's wife, Ziv Abud, a survivor of the Nova music festival massacre, also shared her story. She described taking refuge in a roadside bomb shelter with 29 others, where they were attacked by terrorists. Abud credited her husband with saving her life by covering her with bodies.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz met with Cohen and Abud before the ceremony and later became emotional on stage while recounting Cohen's refusal to record a propaganda video for Hamas before his release. Waltz praised Cohen's strength and resilience, saying he was a proud and undefeated Jew.
The ceremony commemorated the October 7, 2023, attack, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 people and the abduction of 251 individuals. Other survivors, including Oriya Berlin, shared their stories, highlighting the brutality and trauma inflicted by the attackers.
