Sapir Cohen, who was abducted to Gaza and released from Hamas captivity in the abductee deal, spoke about what happened to her during the first difficult hours of the abduction, about entering Gaza and the jubilant and violent crowd that awaited her, and about the long days in captivity.
At a candle-lighting ceremony held in Kiryat Ata, Cohen, whose husband is still held captive by Hamas, spoke about what happened to her from the stage of the abduction: "They put me on the motorcycle with 2 terrorists and begin the journey, and at this stage I am calm, understanding that the goal is probably not to kill me if it hasn't happened by now."
The story of Sapir Cohen who was kidnapped on 7/10 and her friend stayed in Gaza💔 pic.twitter.com/CNI7FuwGwc
— Tamir Shalom (@8bg94uayBqvYfDN) December 14, 2023
"We are starting the journey, I see many civilians starting to photograph me, I look at the cameras, all the cameras, I always keep my head held high, I tell myself at least that my parents will see, understand that it was me who was kidnapped, and we are entering Gaza. People are waiting for me by the side of the road, "The Queen has arrived", everyone is screaming, just a queen they really, really want to kill, some were with sticks, some with cigarettes, they come closer to me, they shout, start hitting me, they probably didn't like the peace I made. They didn't like the smile on camera, and I start defending myself with my hands. Then they put a shirt on my head and try to protect me so I can get there alive."
Regarding the holding of the prisoners in the tunnels and their condition, Cohen said: "In the tunnels I see people suffering, abducted people in bad shape, whether it's patients who don't have medicine, if wounded people who have no one to take care of them, if it's young men like my partner, where they are strong but there they are weakest, no one feels sorry for them, I spend many days in the tunnels, and to the teachers of the difficult situation I tell myself it's time to be optimistic."
Uncommonly, Cohen spoke about the unique angle she chose to see things. "Think what's good here, don't feel sorry for yourself, don't cry, because you get a right, a right to be here, and I say to myself, voila, I have a chance to see my number one enemy, talk to him, see how he thinks, see what he's built all this time, it's crazy, just crazy, and I say God thank you for the opportunity, and I don't care what happens I'm happy to be here. It's a very strange sentence I say, but it took me a long time to come to terms with it, and miracles happened to me all the way I was there, I was very optimistic, I was always smiling, and I kept laughing and I wasn't drugged, a real smile, I didn't take pills."
Sapir Cohen with the mayor of Kiryat Ata, photo: PR
One day, Cohen recounted an unusual interaction with one of her captors: "One day I see one of the terrorists drawing a memorial candle and writing a sapphire on it, and I get angry, because I built on some connection there, and I tell him why did you write my name? And he tells me, I don't love you, you're my enemy, but that you're here there's light, and I look and say God forbid, I heard it from a terrorist, but I can say that right now there are kidnapped people there who, unfortunately, have been bypassed by miracles, who are living on borrowed time."
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