Freed hostage recalls daunting meeting with Hamas leader Sinwar in captivity

When asked what she would have said to Sinwar had she recognized him, Cohen replied, ‘I wouldn’t have asked anything.’

By Tal Ariel Yakir, JNS

For 55 harrowing days, Sapir Cohen endured captivity at the hands of Hamas in Gaza.

Her ordeal began with her abduction from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7 and ended with her release in a swap for terrorists on Nov. 30, 2023. However, her partner, Alex (“Sasha”) Trufanov, who was kidnapped alongside her, remains in captivity, held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

In a revealing interview with Israel Hayom, Cohen recounts the terrifying moments of her abduction, her confinement in tunnels and homes of Hamas operatives, the constant fear of sexual assault, and the hope she drew from seeing demonstrations in Israel demanding the hostages’ release.

Perhaps most startling is her account of an unexpected and frightening conversation with none other than Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza.

“On day 51, a man who appeared to be a senior figure arrived and informed Sahar Calderon and Or Yaakov, my fellow captives, that they would be released the following day. He then turned to me and said I would be released too.

“One of the other captors mentioned that I was over 18, prompting him to ask if I was a soldier. When I said no, he inquired about my military service,” she said. “I felt my face turning red and found myself at a loss for words. Trying to recall what I had told my captors during the initial interrogation, I said I had been a clerk at the Kirya [military headquarters in Tel Aviv]. He asked if I served in the reserves, and when I again replied no, he simply turned and left.”

“It wasn’t until after my return to Israel that I realized the identity of the man who had spoken to me. It was Yahya Sinwar himself, the Hamas leader in Gaza.”

When asked what she would have said to Sinwar had she recognized him, Cohen replied, “I wouldn’t have asked anything.”

She was released after 55 days in captivity, during the final phase of the hostage deal on Nov. 30. In recent weeks, Cohen has been addressing Jewish communities worldwide, including segments of the public who oppose a hostage-for-ceasefire-and-terrorists-release deal.

“During my captivity, one of my captors called me to watch Al Jazeera when they were showing footage of ‘Hostage Square’ [in Tel Aviv, where protests are held to secure their release],” she recalled. “I saw tens of thousands of Israelis united in purpose, and it filled me with hope.

“The captor smiled, interlocked his fingers into two fists, and said: ‘When all the Jews are like this, it’s strong, strong, strong. We’ll wait a bit, there will be chaos among you.’ It was then that I understood they are acutely aware of our vulnerabilities and know that our greatest threat comes from within.

“This is why we don’t need to share the same opinions, but rather respect each other, practice tolerance and remember that we’re all one family. We cannot afford to be indifferent to human life, and we must do everything in our power to bring back Sasha and the remaining hostages,” Cohen said.

‘Dampness, mold and stench’

“We can’t allow them to be out of sight and out of mind. If we choose the wrong path, we risk facing even greater tragedies. While there’s talk of dismantling Hamas, we seem to be moving towards dismantling the unity of Israel itself.

“The tunnels in Gaza are much narrower and darker, and everything is full of dampness, mold and stench. You can’t really get a sense of what the tunnels are like there,” she said.

“The beginning was very difficult. I kept asking myself, ‘God, why did you do this to me?’” she said. “There were moments when I had to collect food scraps from the floor or sleep in the same room with 10 Hamas operatives. I was afraid they would harm me, and I was scared of the many explosions I heard, not knowing where they were coming from.”

Originally published by Israel Hayom.

hamas hostagesOctober 7thYahya Sinwar