An Israeli mother, Viki Cohen, has made an emotional plea for the return of her son, Nimrod Cohen, who was abducted by Hamas militants during the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
Speaking with journalists in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Cohen urged the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to engage in negotiations with Hamas to secure the release of Nimrod and other hostages still in captivity.
Nimrod, who was just 19 at the time of his abduction, was the youngest in a group of Israeli soldiers seized during the raid on southern Israel.
He has now spent over 14 months in captivity.
“As a mother, I keep asking myself when I will see my son again,” Cohen said. “But I will do whatever it takes to bring him back home.”
Cohen, now a member of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an NGO advocating for the release of captives, described the ordeal her son is believed to be facing.
“His mental state is fragile. He was tortured. He was depressed after witnessing executions carried out by Hamas,” she revealed.
During the October 7 attack, Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped more than 250 individuals, most of them Israeli citizens, during a deadly raid that included an assault on a music festival. Since then, about 200 captives have reportedly been released, while 56 remain in Hamas custody. Some are feared dead.
Cohen called on the international community to exert more pressure on Israeli authorities to prioritize negotiations for the release of the remaining hostages.
Her optimism was recently renewed following the release of American-Israeli Edan Alexander, a move believed to have occurred ahead of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit to the Middle East.
She urged Netanyahu to consider alternative diplomatic efforts.
“If President Trump was able to use back channels to secure a release, we must explore those options too,” she said.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum has launched several demonstrations in recent months to draw global attention to the plight of the captives.
Daniel Shek, a former diplomat and now head of diplomacy for the Forum, acknowledged the complexities facing the Netanyahu administration.
“If there were an easy solution, someone would have discovered it already,” he said.
Since the October 2023 attacks—often referred to as “Black Saturday”—Israel has carried out a relentless military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
While the war has resulted in thousands of deaths, critics have accused the Israeli government of applying disproportionate force.
