Former Gaza hostage Nimrod Cohen announced that he is planning to complete his military service during an interview with N12’s Ulpan Shishi.
Cohen was abducted from a burning tank by Hamas near Kibbutz Nirim on October 7, 2023, along with the murdered bodies of fellow Armored Corps soldiers Omer Neutra, Oz Daniel, and Shaked Dahan.
He was kept hostage for more than two years before being released on October 13, 2025.
By the time he was kidnapped, Cohen had done 10 months of the two years and eight months that Israeli men are required to serve. “I didn’t really do my service, the way I see it. I served for 10 months until I was kidnapped,” he said.
“Operationally, I managed to be there for something like two months. The rest of the time I was in training or exercises and didn’t really do what I define as significant service,” he added.
Ex-hostage says ee-enlisting is best way to heal from October 7 trauma
According to Cohen, the best thing he can do to heal is to be active.
“The best healing a person can have is to stay active and maintain some kind of routine. Being at home all day would be awful. And also enjoying yourself: How much can you really fly? I flew twice. After those flights, I felt that I needed a bit of rest at home. I said I would save my strength for the next flights,” he said.
“I don’t want to be sitting at home doing nothing, and also don’t want to start working, because I don’t feel ready for it. The military has the correct framework for me in this moment of my life,” Cohen said.