On 7 October 2023, Corporal Nimrod Cohen was guarding the area near the Nirim kibbutz close to Gaza frontier, when his tank malfunctioned and his unit was overrun by armed militants.

Nimrod was the only one taken alive, and his father has received credible reports – including from some of the hostages who have been released – that his son is still alive and in Gaza, most recently in the Khan Younis area.

“Nimrod is a normal boy,” said Yehuda, speaking to UN News from his home in Rehovot, central Israel.

‘He’s a normal boy’

“We're not talking about Nimrod because he's a rock star or a pop star or a sport star. He's a normal boy who had the misfortune to do his duty to his country and serve in the army.”

The attackers killed more than 1,250 Israelis and foreign nationals. More than 250 others were abducted and taken to Gaza as hostages, including women, children and the elderly.

Survivors and witnesses have described rape, sexualized torture and other forms of cruel and inhumane treatment carried out during the assault.

“The Hamas attack was done not to release any territories or to do any good for the Palestinian people. It was a heinous attack to try to break the morale of the Israeli people,” Mr. Cohen said.

Following the shock of the attack, he, his wife Viki and son Yotam, have joined other hostages and families to urge international leaders to press both Hamas and the Israeli Government to agree a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

The Cohen family has met United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other senior UN officials in New York and Geneva.

They have also lobbied Member States, including France and the United States, among others, as part of the intense campaign by family members to secure freedom for their loved ones.

Pressure on both sides

Mr. Cohen said it has been a fulltime fight: “on the street in Israel, marches, rallies, demonstrations, speeches, through the media, local and international. Anything, to talk to leaders and to tell them [that] pressure needs to be done on both sides,” he said – applying pressure on the Israeli Government and the militants.

“I even talk to Palestinians,” he continued, stressing that the release of hostages and ending the work will be good for Israel and the Middle East overall.

Israelis and Palestinians have the same yearning to live normal lives, which is not in line with the extremist views of some members of the Israeli Government or of Hamas, he said.

“We want to have a normal life together, and the only way is to do a settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. So, in the future, we can say Israel and Palestine; and this is the two-State solution. [There is] No other way,” Mr. Cohen added.