‘God, save me’ – Former hostage recalls Hamas abduction

“We hid under the bed, but then I heard ‘Allahu Akbar,’” said Sapir Cohen, recounting the terrifying kidnapping by Hamas terrorists.

By World Israel News Staff

A former hostage who was kidnapped by the Hamas terror group and held captive in the Gaza Strip spoke about her terrifying ordeal in a recent interview.

On the weekend of October 7, 2023, Sapir Cohen and her boyfriend Alexander (Sasha) Trufanov were visiting his parents in Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

Prior to the visit, Trufanov had expressed reservations about traveling to the kibbutz, but Cohen convinced him to go anyway, she told the TBN Israel YouTube channel.

The pair, who were staying in a separate kibbutz house near the Trufanov family home, were awakened on October 7 by nonstop air raid sirens.

Then, Cohen said, Trufanov received a WhatsApp message from his mother that terrorists had infiltrated the kibbutz.

“We hid under the bed, but then I heard ‘Allahu Akbar,’ I heard hundreds of terrorists storming houses. I heard things explode, the screams of the terrorists, the screams of the people killed by them, and I heard them come closer and closer to us. They were shooting everywhere, at everyone,” Cohen said.

She prayed for God to save her, she said. Then, terrorists burst into the room, separating her from Trufanov. They were both abducted to Gaza.

Cohen recounted crowds of civilians who jeered and attempted to beat her as she was taken into the Strip on a motorcycle.

Once in Gaza, Cohen was held alongside other captives who had been kidnapped during the massacres.

“I remember that I saw the other hostages, that one of them just lay down, and he closed his eyes. He didn’t want to be a part of this reality,” Cohen told TBN. “I saw a young girl that was shaking, and I saw people that all their families were in the kibbutz on that day and they didn’t know what happened to their children, to their parents.”

Cohen said that once again she prayed for God to save her, so that she could help support other hostages.

After 55 days in captivity, Cohen was freed during a ceasefire.

Troufanov is still held in the Strip. His mother, Yelena, and grandmother, Irina, who were also kidnapped, were released in the same deal as Cohen.

His father, Vitali, was murdered on October 7.