Show Notes
A young man is taken captive after a music festival attack, forced to endure 505 days underground. What does one hold onto when everything is stripped away?
You hold a single flashlight - do you hand it over or keep living?
This episode recounts the harrowing experience of Eliya Cohen, from the moment of his abduction to his 505 days in captivity, exploring the profound question of what remains when all else is lost.
Person: Eliya Cohen Date: October 7, 2023 Location: Negev desert, Israel Event: Nova music festival attack Duration: 505 days
- Eliya Cohen, a 26-year-old event producer, attended the Nova music festival with his girlfriend and nephew. - Rocket sirens at 6 AM scattered the crowd, leading to chaos and separation from his girlfriend. - Cohen survived an attack on a concrete shelter, where his nephew and his nephew's partner were killed. - He was abducted by Hassan Mahmoud Hassan Mahmoud of Hamas's al-Bureij Battalion and transported with other captives, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin. - During his captivity, Cohen endured surgery on a gunshot wound without anesthesia, constant chaining, and severe rations of one flatbread divided among four people.
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