Transcript [00:00] distinguished audience today. I'll I'll [00:02] start with you Elia. [00:04] >> My name is Aliyah Coen. I'm 29 years [00:07] old. I grew up in Sadasa. It's beautiful [00:10] village between [00:12] near to near to Jerusalem. [00:16] I'm Z partner for more than 10 years. [00:20] Before October 7, I serve as a fighter [00:22] in special forces sat karov and I deal [00:25] with real estate in Tel Aiv. [00:28] And I am Ze [00:30] 29 years old also from Tel a Viv before [00:34] October 7. I study marketing [00:38] and I survived Nova Music Festival. [00:43] >> You two were together at the festival. [00:45] Correct. [00:46] >> Correct. [00:46] >> And how long had you been there when the [00:48] attack came? How long had you been at [00:51] the festival? [00:53] So, it's funny because we arrived to the [00:55] festival at 4:40 a.m. It means almost [00:58] two hours before the attack was started [01:01] and 6:29 the music stopped and the [01:06] attack started. [01:07] >> So, you arrived at 4:40. What had you [01:10] two been doing all night? [01:14] >> So, [01:16] >> okay. [01:17] >> We came to the festival actually just [01:20] for my nephew Amit. He was only 19. It [01:23] was the start of his life. He wanted to [01:28] dance in the holiday. And actually we [01:31] were old for festivals at that point. So [01:34] 440 [01:36] before the sun before the sunrise it was [01:39] enough for us, but the sunrise was very [01:42] very different at that festival. [01:44] >> Right. and um take us through that [01:49] moment because I've I've been to the [01:51] Nova Festival site and there's nowhere [01:55] to run. There's nohere to hide. I mean, [01:57] there's trees around, but they're not [01:58] very thick. [02:00] But [02:02] take us through the moment that you [02:06] realized what was actually happening [02:09] because the music was loud, there was a [02:12] big crowd. Take me through the moment [02:15] that you realized [02:18] we're actually under attack here. [02:22] Take me through that moment when it [02:24] actually hit you in your mind. So I [02:26] remember how the music stopped and for [02:29] us it was regular because in Israel [02:31] sometimes the policees stop the music [02:34] but then I saw in the sky a lot of [02:36] missiles and I said okay it's it it [02:40] makes sense because we near to the [02:41] border in Gaza and I said maybe they [02:43] attacked us and I I I don't want to be [02:46] here and I remember I look at Ze and I [02:48] told her I don't want to be here. I [02:49] don't know what's going on. let's let's [02:51] go out from this area. And immediately [02:54] we found Amit and Karen and we took the [02:57] car and actually really fast we got out [03:00] from this area and on the road 232 I got [03:04] a phone call from my aunt and she [03:06] screamed to me and she told me aliyah [03:09] where are you and I said what what [03:11] what's going on and she told me someone [03:13] shoot on my car you have to stop your [03:14] car and I remember how I look at Ze and [03:17] I told her she probably hide or she [03:19] maybe took something I don't know and I [03:21] said who can we can shut down on her car [03:23] but Ze looked behind and she told me [03:25] alyia we have responsibility about Amit [03:28] and Karim let's stop the car and I don't [03:32] know if people know here but in every [03:34] bus station in the state of Israel we [03:37] have a bomb shelter because to hide from [03:40] the from the missiles it's place with no [03:43] doors with no windows it's supposed to [03:45] protect you just from missiles can fit [03:47] maybe eight people and we arrived to [03:50] this shelter and We packed together 29 [03:53] people and [03:55] >> in a shelter for eight. [03:57] >> Yes. [03:58] >> 29 people. [03:59] >> Yes. And I have to admit, we actually [04:02] didn't understand what's going on. So [04:04] outside there was a lot of red alarm. [04:07] But inside was really warm and we [04:09] celebrate. We put music. We we shared [04:12] candies. We celebrate. We just came from [04:15] festival like a random people and and [04:19] then the attack was started. Yes. [04:22] >> Okay. So, it was chaotic when the music [04:25] stopped. So, you didn't realize an [04:27] attack was going on? [04:29] >> No, actually, no. We eyed at the first [04:32] just for missiles. That's it. [04:35] >> Okay. And you didn't know until you got [04:38] a phone call from somebody that wasn't [04:40] at the festival? [04:42] >> She was with us in the festival. Okay. [04:45] She danced with us 5 minutes before and [04:47] then we get a phone call and even then [04:51] we thought to ourel okay terrorist it's [04:53] also regular in Israel maybe one two the [04:56] IDF will come like finish with it and we [05:01] can drive safe to our home after but it [05:05] doesn't happen it was it was worse than [05:08] what we thought. [05:09] >> Yeah. And you two eventually got [05:12] separated [05:15] >> afteria was kidnapped. We were in the [05:17] shelter, [05:18] four of us, me, Eliia, my nephew, and [05:21] his girlfriend. [05:22] >> Uhhuh. [05:23] >> And then the attack was started and they [05:25] came with two tenders, more than 40 [05:28] terrorists, and they started to attack [05:31] our shelter with any weapon they had to [05:33] kill us. At the first, it was grenade. [05:37] And with us, we were lucky because with [05:40] us, one hero with his hand throw back [05:44] the grenades outside from the shelter. [05:47] He succeeded to throw back eight [05:49] grenades and then he got shot and he was [05:52] murdered inside the shelter. Since that [05:54] moment, Elliot did something that [05:57] probably saved my life after. And he [05:59] covered me and M with dead bodies. I [06:02] lost my consciousness. [06:04] I was kidnapped and after [06:08] seven hours I wake up in the shelter. I [06:12] found myself in a pile of a bodies. It [06:17] wasn't even a bodies. It was a part of a [06:19] bodies. Sorry. [06:21] And I started to looking for Aliyah, but [06:25] he wasn't there. And I didn't understand [06:27] what happened to him. Next, I saw my [06:30] nephew and his girlfriend and both of [06:32] them was murdered inside a shelter and I [06:36] needed to sit with them bodies for seven [06:38] more hours. [06:40] After that, someone came with the [06:43] location that his son sent them that [06:45] morning. His son was murdered inside the [06:48] shelter, but he saves us and I was one [06:50] of seven survivors. [06:54] >> You know, that's we it's hard to [06:57] conceive. We sit here in this room today [07:00] and you know we're all dressed nice. [07:02] It's airond conditioned and these are [07:05] words that we're speaking but it's it's [07:08] hard to imagine [07:10] hours and hours lying under [07:15] dead bodies and parts of dead bodies [07:19] and [07:20] being trapped there and you don't know [07:22] where he is. And [07:27] when when you describe something [07:32] and you're hearing it, [07:34] you you can't experience [07:38] the smell, the the humidity, the [07:43] temperature, all the things that go with [07:47] it. And that's why I say this isn't [07:52] post-traumatic stress disorder. This is [07:54] something that is ongoing. And then the [07:59] war ensues after that. [08:02] And then [08:04] Ilie is lost. He's gone. And that's why [08:08] we call it ambiguous loss. You don't [08:10] know whether to grieve or hope or both. [08:14] Um what was that like for you not [08:18] knowing? [08:20] So it was a difficult days because like [08:24] you said the smell is staying with me [08:27] until now and I know it's going to be [08:30] for the rest of my life and it was 505 [08:36] days with the knowing with the knowing [08:38] that I lost my nephew. We were four [08:42] people that went to the festival from [08:44] the same aisles and I'm the only the one [08:47] the only one that came back home that [08:49] night and I was fought for him for 5 105 [08:53] days without knowing nothing and it's [08:56] all it's also stay with me for the rest [08:58] of my life but now he's here and I can [09:02] look [09:04] forward to the future after we got [09:07] married and I know this experience will [09:10] stay with us like you said it's post [09:12] trauma and it's not post because we are [09:15] in the trauma right now [09:19] and I hope it will be better in the [09:21] future when we have kids and family [09:25] because we are here and we survived and [09:28] we need to live a normal life I hope [09:33] >> well it will be better because you will [09:35] make it better and and people that [09:38] support you and come together will will [09:43] help you make it better. And we'll talk [09:44] about that some more in a minute. You [09:47] always hear about survivors guilt. [09:50] Did you feel guilty that four went and [09:55] one returned? Did you question why you [09:59] >> always [10:01] always you can just imagine since then [10:05] was a producer of music festivals. So [10:09] every person in the dance floor we knew [10:12] and we lost more than 48 friends [10:17] and [10:19] of course it will always with us and we [10:24] feel guilty after Aliyah got released [10:26] from captivity also felt guilty that he [10:29] is outside and his friends not. [10:32] >> Yeah. [10:33] You were taken. [10:36] How did they abduct you? How did they [10:40] get their hands on you and tell us about [10:43] that moment when you were abducted and [10:46] what went down? [10:48] >> So, think about that. All all what you [10:50] heard until now. It were just the the [10:52] few minutes of my new life and we were [10:56] under all the bodies, a lot of bloods [10:58] around us. Just five minutes ago if me [11:01] and Ze say goodbye to each other. Ze [11:03] told me at least in the sky we will be [11:05] together and no one could separate us [11:07] there. And the terrorist kept throw the [11:10] grenade inside. They kept a lot. And I [11:12] remember how they shot RPG and then was [11:15] completely quiet and I knew this is the [11:17] the moment that they're supposed to come [11:20] in or to kidnap me or to kill all of us [11:23] and I just closed my eyes and when I [11:26] opened them I saw three terrorist with [11:29] youth smile and they film us and one of [11:31] them realized that I'm alive. So he [11:33] approached me in and he told me come [11:35] with me and I said I can't. I just got [11:37] shot on my leg and he point his gun to [11:41] my head and he told me if you're not [11:42] come with me I will shot you and I just [11:45] stood I moved bodies I didn't look [11:47] behind to understand what happened to Ze [11:49] Karen and Amit and I got out from this [11:51] shelter and they started to kidnap me [11:54] you mentioned here's Gulber so he [11:56] kidnapped with me together and you [11:57] mentioned Alen so we were all of us [12:00] together and the last thing I saw before [12:02] being taken to Gaza it was one of the [12:05] terrorist he went back to the shelter to [12:07] make sure that no one was left alive. So [12:10] he shot many bullet to all direction and [12:12] I knew this is the moment that I lost [12:14] everyone. I lost Z, Amit, Karim and we [12:17] started to drive to Gaza to my new life. [12:22] >> We just have a few minutes left here. [12:26] Describe the darkest hour during your [12:29] captivity. What was the darkest hour for [12:31] you? [12:33] >> Wow. describe 55 days with a lot of tel [12:37] to conversation like this. It's really [12:39] hard but I had no any kind of [12:41] conditions. They didn't let me to to [12:43] change clothes or to get shower even to [12:45] eat or to drink a lot of interrogation [12:47] violence. They changed me with heavy [12:50] iron chains by my leg. They put a lot of [12:53] LED in the wall because they didn't want [12:55] us to go to sleep. Every hour or two [12:57] hour they came and scream alakbar to to [12:59] our room because they want us really to [13:01] afraid from them. They didn't let us of [13:03] course to go to the restroom. So we pee [13:05] on oursel almost every week and it was [13:09] almost impossible to survive. But every [13:12] day I remind myself and I didn't let I [13:14] didn't let myself to tell to myself that [13:17] this is a hard situation because I saw [13:19] it as opportunity because I saw how many [13:22] people die on October 7 and I said [13:26] aliyah there is a chance you go back [13:27] home don't think about the violence [13:29] don't think about the ter don't think [13:31] about everything just continue stay [13:34] strong and maybe you will maybe one day [13:36] you will come back home to your family [13:38] it's not just about my family and the [13:40] faith with God that God plans to me this [13:43] and maybe one day I will go home. [13:46] >> Well, two questions I I have for you in [13:49] in wrapping up. What is your [13:53] defining emotion [13:55] about all of this right now? I is it [13:58] anger? Is it bitterness? Is it [14:02] um resolve? Do you seek forgiveness? [14:05] What to have forgiveness in your heart? [14:08] What is your defining emotion after 505 [14:11] days? [14:12] >> First, I want to say that anger will not [14:14] give me nothing. And if I want to [14:16] continue, I can't be anger about [14:18] nothing. But there is something that I [14:20] want to say that we live in Israel and [14:22] way kidnapped me and I was chained and I [14:25] was kidnapped. I didn't was s I I wasn't [14:28] surprised because I chose to live in [14:30] Israel and I know with which enemy we we [14:34] are deal with and it's difficult because [14:38] in all the people in Israel are deal [14:40] with with with those situation they are [14:42] maybe not kidnapped but they walk in the [14:45] street of Tel a Viv and they sitting in [14:47] bar and they are afraid to to to got [14:49] shot or you can walk in in Jerusalem and [14:51] you're afraid that you that someone will [14:53] will kill you. So the all the rest of [14:56] Israel live the same situation. I don't [14:59] count myself as a as a spatial or [15:01] something just what happened to me. It's [15:04] different situation that someone in [15:05] Jerusalem went through. [15:10] If if there are attackers [15:14] that these terrorists that are watching [15:17] this right now, what would you say to [15:20] those terrorists that abducted you and [15:23] created this pain? If they're watching [15:26] right now, what do you say to them? [15:28] >> I won. I won. And I'm here. [15:32] And you're probably underground in your [15:34] tunnels with your humus and your people. [15:37] And I'm here. [15:49] you. Um [16:00] and [16:02] you have you had no way of knowing. [16:05] But [16:07] the number one tool of the abuser is [16:10] isolation. You have no way of knowing. [16:12] But what do you say to the nation of [16:14] Israel and Jews around the world that [16:18] stood and fought for you every minute of [16:21] every day led by this amazing woman [16:24] right here? What do you say to Israel is [16:28] the Israeli people and Jews around the [16:30] world that stood and fought for you [16:32] every day? First of all, I love you and [16:35] I hug you and stay proud to be Jewish [16:38] and stay proud to be Israeli. And it's [16:41] it's not new. For thousands of years, [16:44] people have tried to hurt us. For the [16:46] for the world history, for the whole for [16:48] the world history, people have tried to [16:50] hurt us and maybe they can kill us. [16:52] Maybe they can rapt us. They can kidnap [16:54] us. But there is one thing they can take [16:56] from us and it's our identity. So stay [16:58] proud to be Jewish and we are here to [17:01] stay. [17:03] Well, let me tell you, it wasn't just [17:06] Jews. The rest of the world fought for [17:08] you, too. And I was among them, and it [17:10] was my honor to fight for you as well. [17:12] God bless you, and thank you both for [17:14] sharing. [17:14] >> Thank you very much.
From Hamas captivity to the United Nations.
Ziv Abud, who survived the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, fought for 505 days to bring Eliya Cohen home from Hamas captivity after he was kidnapped into Gaza that horrific day.
Now married and rebuilding their lives together, Eliya and Ziv joined Dr. Phil at the UN to share their powerful story of survival, resilience, and love after unimaginable loss. 🇮🇱❤️
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