Former hostage Nimrod Cohen says he is seeking to return to army service, some four months after his return from two years of captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Cohen told Channel 12 on Friday that he believed having structure and routine was very important for his rehabilitation, and that he thought the military would be particularly sensitive to his needs and capabilities as he recovers from his intensely traumatic ordeal.
“It’s a matter of having a certain framework,” he said. “Sitting at home isn’t what I want to do. Entering a [civilian] work framework would be a bit more complicated. In a military framework they know who the person is and how to approach the situation. They know what kinds of things might suit me — whether it’s sitting in front of a computer or being more active.”
Cohen was abducted on October 7, 2023, from the IDF’s Nahal Oz base near the Gaza border, some 10 months into his military service in the armored corps. He was taken from his tank, with the rest of the crew killed. Cohen, 19 at the time, was one of 251 hostages taken that day, as Hamas terrorists ravaged communities and military bases near the border, killing some 1,200 people, most of them civilians.
Cohen was freed on October 13, 2025, after 738 days in captivity, as part of the ceasefire in Gaza that saw the release of all 20 living hostages still held in the enclave, and eventually, all 28 deceased ones.
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His family has said he was held in a cage in a tunnel for much of his captivity, where he was tortured, interrogated and abused.
Cohen told Channel 12 he also sought to have a “meaningful” role now that he is free.
“I don’t really feel that I completed my service, the way I see it,” he said. “I served 10 months until I was kidnapped. Operationally, I had about two months. The rest of the time I was in training or exercises and didn’t really do what I define as meaningful service.”
Freed hostage Nimrod Cohen arrives in his hometown of Rehovot, October 16, 2025. (Flash90)
He added, “The best healing a person can have is to be active and maintain a certain routine. Being at home all day would be awful.”
As for taking some more time off, Cohen said this, too, had its limits. “How much can you really travel?” he said. “I traveled twice [since my release]. After those trips, I felt I needed a bit of rest at home.”
Cohen appeared at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv a month after his release, thanking the troops of the IDF, Israelis who rallied weekly for the hostages throughout the war and US President Donald Trump for helping secure his return. He also paid tribute to Oz Daniel, Omer Neutra and Shaked Dahan, the three slain members of his tank crew.
“When I was in hell in Gaza, in the tunnels,” he said, his captors “kept on telling us that the people of Israel gave up on us. That nobody is going out to protest and fight for us. That life is moving on and nobody cares.”
“But the day we came home, the moment I crossed the border back into the country, I realized it was all lies,” said Cohen, recalling the thousands of people he saw lining the streets and applauding the return of the last 20 hostages.
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