As son clocks nearly 600 days in captivity: Woman cries out, urges Israeli PM to end war against Hamas terrorists.

Close to 600 days after over 250 persons including soldiers and civilians were taken hostage by the Palestinian terrorists, 58 of them are yet to be released.

For their families, it has been a period of deep pain and frustration.

Now, Cohen Viki, an Israeli woman whose son, Nimrod Cohen, 20, was taken hostage, is pleading with the country’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to end the war against Hamas and engage in negotiations.

Her son, Nimrod Cohen, was taken hostage while serving as a member of the Israel Defence Forces, IDF. The wish of Cohen and her husband, is for their son, to be released unharmed.

In a chat with a group of African journalists in the city of Tel Aviv, Israel’s economic capital, Cohen was blunt in her demands.

She recounted how her son, alongside other soldiers were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on that fateful October 7, 2023.

“We found out that Nimrod was kidnapped on October 7, 2023 at noon time. We saw a video that Hamas released. It was on YouTube and in the video, we saw how Nimrod was taken and thrown to the ground and was dragged to Gaza. We recognised him. I can’t find the best word to express how shocked we were when saw that video…from that day, our lives changed,” she said, disclosing that: “My husband and I stopped working and spend all our time, resources and energy on fighting to bring Nimrod back home. Even though he was a soldier, he was only protecting the Israeli border and protecting the citizens…”.

Cohen’s demand is for Netanyahu to declare a ceasefire and enter a deal with the terrorists.

She regretted that: “We have Hamas that is our enemy but we have also our government that insists on keep on fighting even though the war is a risk to our loved ones that are still in captivity”.

She was blunt that: “We feel that our government betrayed us; the citizens. Nimrod is a soldier and the government sent him where he was and they have the responsibility to bring him back home. No war can bring him back home. We believe that the only thing that can bring him home and all hostages that are still in captivity, is only a deal; stop the war, sign a deal and bring all of them. That is what Hamas wants, these are their demands and our Prime Minister needs to accept it”.

Cohen continued that: “The majority of the population is standing beside us. They demand that the government should bring all the hostages back home even if it means to stop the war. There is no other option. The immediate thing to do is to safe the lives of the hostages. They have been away for almost 600 days and every day they spend there is a risk for their lives”. 

How her son, others were kidnapped

Nimrod Cohen, it should be said, was a gunner in a tank that fateful day of October 7, 2023. He was kidnapped as he and his crew attempted to stem the tide of Hamas terrorists invading the Nahal Oz army base, where one of two tanks stationed between Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Nirim.

Nimrod, who was 19 when he was captured by Hamas, was in a tank along the border with Captain Omer Neutra, Sargent Shaked Dahan and Sgt. Oz Daniel. Neutra was the tank commander, Dahan the driver, Cohen the gunner and Daniel the loader.

During the assault on southern Israel, their tank was attacked by Hamas terrorists with RPG fire and explosive devices. All four were then abducted to Gaza. 

Infamous footage from the attack showed Palestinians in civilian clothing standing on and around their tank while it was wreathed in smoke and flames, and the soldiers being dragged out by Hamas terrorists.

Since then, it was learned that Neutra, Dahan and Daniel were all killed, with their bodies held by Hamas. For Nimrod, there have been several signs of life from him.

The most recent sign of life was received from a freed hostage who last saw Cohen more than eight months ago. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3451 of Wednesday May 21, 2025