Hen Mazzig
Released hostage Eliya Cohen recounted how he and other hostages attempted to escape on their first day in captivity in Gaza. After Israel began bombing the area, their captors left them alone, fearing an imminent airstrike on the building where the hostages were held. “I looked at the hostages who were with me. I didn’t even know their names yet, and I told them: ‘Let’s escape’. You can call it an instinct, maybe a gut feeling. And we just started running in the street,” he said. But they were quickly stopped by a Gazan man who recognized them as Israelis. Moments later, their guard returned and moved them to a nearby grocery store to hide. Eventually, they were taken back to the ruins of the house, where they remained for two months.
