In an emotional full circle, former Hamas captive Eliya Cohen returned on Sunday for the first time to the shelter from which he was kidnapped and donned tefillin.

Cohen was abducted on Oct. 7, 2023, by Hamas terrorists while attending the Nova music festival with his girlfriend, Ziv Abud.

When the rocket fire began, they fled to a shelter that later became known as the “death shelter.”

With them were Ziv’s nephew, Amit Ben Avida, and his girlfriend Karin Schwartzman, who were both killed, while Eliya was abducted to Gaza by the terrorists.

Eliya was released from captivity after 505 days. His girlfriend, Ziv, posted a photo of the couple at the bunker today and wrote, “I can’t write anything, just victory.”

Eliya Cohen, taken hostage on October 7, returned to the very shelter where he was shot and abducted.

There, he wrapped himself in tefillin and recited the same ancient prayers Jews have said for generations.

This is what we mean when we say: Am Yisrael Chai — the Nation of… pic.twitter.com/8MzabCgqy4

— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) April 20, 2025