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.<\/p>\n
Cohen told Channel 12 he also sought to have a \u201cmeaningful\u201d role now that he is free.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really feel that I completed my service, the way I see it,\u201d he said. \u201cI 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\u2019t really do what I define as meaningful service.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t He added, \u201cThe best healing a person can have is to be active and maintain a certain routine. Being at home all day would be awful.\u201d<\/p>\n As for taking some more time off, Cohen said this, too, had its limits. \u201cHow much can you really travel?\u201d he said. \u201cI traveled twice [since my release]. After those trips, I felt I needed a bit of rest at home.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I was in hell in Gaza, in the tunnels,\u201d he said, his captors \u201ckept 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut the day we came home, the moment I crossed the border back into the country, I realized it was all lies,\u201d said Cohen, recalling the thousands of people he saw lining the streets and applauding the return of the last 20 hostages.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tFreed hostage Nimrod Cohen arrives in his hometown of Rehovot, October 16, 2025. (Flash90)<\/p>\n
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