Israeli hostage finds faith during days in Gaza captivity: 'I felt miracles'

A young woman who was taken hostage from a Kibbutz on Oct. 7 found faith during 55 days in captivity in tunnels below Gaza.

"I think one of the biggest miracles that I felt is that I understood that maybe I was supposed to be in this place," Cohen said.

Hamas terrorists abducted Sapir Cohen by putting her on a motorcycle. 

One year ago today, Cohen and her boyfriend Sasha were at the Nova Music Festival near Gaza when they heard explosions and gunfire.

Related

article

What happened on Oct. 7? Timeline of Hamas attack, one year later

Last year Hamas launched a surprise attack prompting Israel to declare war and intensify military operations against Hamas and Hezbollah; here’s a timeline of key events in the ongoing conflict one year later.

With no shelter, they both hid under a bed.

"They go home and shooting everywhere, everyone, and we just waited our turn," Cohen said. 

Then time ran out.

"The terrorists came to our door. They showed the door. They came inside, and they took everything," Cohen said. "They just broke everything, and then I heard Sasha scream."

Video shows Cohen’s face covered as two kidnappers drive her away at gunpoint into Gaza. 

Cohen said she was attacked by a crowd in the streets.

"They beat me so strong that I put my hands on my head and said, 'Come please save me, I don't want to die here,'" Cohen said.

The captors denied Cohen and the other hostages food and clean water.

Despite the grim circumstances, Cohen says, while in captivity, she had a spiritual revelation.

"When I say this prayer something deep inside of me, I felt peace and I didn't understand how I can feel it in this situation," Cohen said.

Cohen decided to shift her attention from her own suffering to someone else. She saw another hostage, a 16-year-old girl who needed help.

"I want to save her and I want to make her happy. From that moment I decided to take this responsibility," Cohen said. "I felt so powerful."

Two months after her kidnapping, Hamas released Cohen along with some other hostages as part of a cease-fire and prisoner exchange deal.

Her boyfriend, Sasha, remains in captivity along with as many as 100 others.

After Cohen’s release, Rabbi Ari Berman invited her to speak to students at Yeshiva University Stern College for Women.

"She did not grow up a person of faith, but found her faith and deepened it in the tunnels of Gaza. She prayed to God in captivity, thanking God for bringing her to this place," Berman said. 

Now Cohen shares her story with Jewish communities all over the world. 

"Faith heals and faith spreads hope, and that's exactly what she did," Berman said.

Now her faith and her prayers for the Israeli hostages who still haven’t come home.