Transcript [00:00] Let me start by having you introduce [00:02] yourselves to our distinguished audience [00:04] today. I'll I'll start with you, Elia. [00:07] >> My name is Aliyah Coen. I'm 29 years [00:11] old. I grew up in Sadasa. It's beautiful [00:14] village between [00:16] near to near to Jerusalem. [00:20] I'm Ze partner for more than 10 years. [00:23] Uh before October 7, I serve as a [00:25] fighter in special forces sat karu and I [00:28] deal with real estate in Tel a Viv. [00:32] >> And I am Ze [00:34] 29 years old also from Tel Aviv before [00:37] October 7. I study marketing [00:42] and I survived Nova Music Festival. [00:46] >> You two were together at the festival, [00:48] correct? [00:49] >> Correct. And how long had you been there [00:52] when the attack came? How long had you [00:54] been at the festival? [00:56] >> So, it's funny because we arrived to the [00:58] festival at 4:40 a.m. It means almost 2 [01:02] hours before the attack was started and [01:05] 6:29 the music stopped and the attack [01:10] started. [01:11] >> So, you arrived at 4:40. What had you [01:13] two been doing all night? [01:17] So [01:19] [gasps] [01:20] >> okay, [01:20] >> we came to the festival actually just [01:23] for my nephew Amit. He was only 19. It [01:26] was the start of his life. He wanted to [01:31] dance in the holiday. And actually we [01:34] were old for festivals at that point. So [01:38] 440 [01:39] before the sun before the sunrise it was [01:42] enough for us. But the sunrise was very [01:46] very different at that festival. [01:48] >> Right. And um take us through that [01:52] moment because I've I've been to the [01:55] Nova Festival site and there's nowhere [01:58] to run. There's nohere to hide. I mean [02:00] there's trees around but they're not [02:02] very thick. [02:04] But [02:06] take us through the moment that you [02:09] realized what was actually happening [02:13] because the music was loud. There was a [02:16] big crowd. Take me through the moment [02:18] that you realized [02:22] we're actually under attack here. [02:25] Take me through that moment when it [02:27] actually hit you in your mind. So I [02:30] remember how the music stopped and for [02:32] us it was regular because in Israel [02:35] sometimes the policees stop the music [02:37] but then I saw in the sky a lot of [02:40] missiles and I said okay it's it it [02:43] makes sense because we near to the [02:45] border in Gaza and I said maybe they [02:47] attacked us and I I don't want to be [02:49] here and I remember how I look at Ze and [02:51] I told her I don't want to be here. I [02:52] don't know what's going on. let's let's [02:55] go out from this area. And immediately [02:57] we found Amit and Karen and we took the [03:00] car and actually really fast we got out [03:04] from this area and on the road 232 I got [03:08] a phone call from my aunt and she [03:10] screamed to me and she told me aliyah [03:12] where are you and I said what what [03:15] what's going on and she told me someone [03:16] shoot on my car you have to stop your [03:18] car and I remember how I look at Ze and [03:20] I told her she probably hide or she [03:23] maybe took something I don't know and I [03:25] said who can shot on her car. But Ze [03:28] looked behind and she told me, "Aliyah, [03:29] we have responsibility about Amit and [03:32] Karen. Let's stop the car." And I don't [03:35] know if people know here, but in every [03:38] bus station in the state of Israel, we [03:41] have a bomb shelter because to hide from [03:43] the from the missiles. It's place with [03:46] no doors, with no windows. It's supposed [03:49] to protect you just for missiles. Can [03:50] fit maybe eight people. And we arrived [03:54] to this shelter and we packed together [03:56] 29 people and [03:59] >> in a shelter for eight. [04:01] >> Yes. [04:01] >> 29 people. [04:02] >> Yes. And I have to admit we actually [04:05] didn't understand what's going on. So [04:07] outside there was a lot of red alarm but [04:11] inside was really warm and we celebrate. [04:13] We put music. We we shared candies. We [04:17] celebrate. We just came from festival [04:20] like a random people and and then the [04:23] attack was started. Yes. [04:25] >> Okay. So it was chaotic when the music [04:29] stopped. So you didn't realize an attack [04:31] was going on. [04:33] >> No, actually no. We eyed at the first [04:36] just for missiles. That's it. [04:39] >> Okay. And you didn't know until you got [04:42] a phone call from somebody that wasn't [04:44] at the festival? [04:46] She was with us in the festival. Okay. [04:48] She danced with us five minutes before [04:51] and then we get a phone call and even [04:53] then we thought to ourself okay [04:56] terrorist it's also regular in Israel [04:59] maybe one two the IDF will come like [05:02] finish with it and we can drive safe to [05:06] our home after but it doesn't happen. It [05:09] was it was worse than what we thought. [05:13] >> Yeah. And you two eventually got [05:16] separated [05:18] >> after Elia was kidnapped. We were in the [05:20] shelter, [05:22] four of us, me, Eliia, my nephew, and [05:25] his girlfriend. [05:26] >> Uhhuh. [05:26] >> And then the attack was started and they [05:29] came with two tenders, more than 40 [05:31] terrorists, and they started to attack [05:34] our shelter with any weapon they had to [05:37] kill us. At the first, it was grenade. [05:41] And with us, we were lucky because with [05:44] us, one hero with his hand throw back [05:47] the grenades outside from the shelter. [05:51] He succeeded to throw back eight [05:52] grenades and then he got shot and he was [05:56] murdered inside the shelter. Since that [05:58] moment, Eliia did something that [06:00] probably saved my life after. And he [06:03] covered me and M with dead bodies. I [06:06] lost my consciousness. Elliot was [06:08] kidnapped. And after [06:12] 7 hours, I wake up in the shelter. I [06:15] found myself in a pile of a bodies. It [06:20] wasn't even a bodies. It was a part of a [06:22] bodies. Sorry. [06:25] And I started to looking for Aliyah, but [06:28] he wasn't there. And I didn't understand [06:31] what happened to him. Next, I saw my [06:34] nephew and his girlfriend, and both of [06:36] them was murdered inside a shelter. and [06:39] I needed to sit with them bodies for [06:41] seven more hours. [06:44] After that, someone came with the [06:47] location that his son sent them that [06:48] morning. His son was murdered inside the [06:51] shelter, but he saves us. And I was one [06:54] of seven survivors. [06:57] >> You know, that's we it's hard to [07:01] conceive. We sit here in this room today [07:03] and, you know, we're all dressed nice. [07:05] It's airond conditioned. And these are [07:08] words that we're speaking. But I it's [07:11] it's hard to imagine [07:14] hours and hours lying under [07:18] dead bodies and parts of dead bodies [07:22] and [07:24] being trapped there and you don't know [07:26] where he is. And [07:31] when when you describe something [07:34] [clears throat] [07:35] and you're hearing it, [07:38] you can't experience [07:42] the smell, the the humidity, the [07:47] temperature, all the things that go with [07:50] it. And that's why I say this isn't [07:55] post-traumatic stress disorder. This is [07:58] something that is ongoing. And then the [08:02] war ensues after that. [08:06] And then [08:08] Ilie is lost. He's gone. And that's why [08:12] we call it ambiguous loss. You don't [08:14] know whether to grieve or hope or both. [08:18] Um what was that like for you not [08:21] knowing? [08:23] So it was a difficult days because like [08:27] you said the smell is staying with me [08:30] until now and I know it's going to be [08:34] for the rest of my life and it was 505 [08:39] days with the knowing with the knowing [08:42] that I lost my nephew. We were four [08:45] people that went to the festival from [08:48] the same house and I'm the only the one [08:50] the only one that came back home that [08:52] night and I was fought for him for 5 105 [08:56] days without knowing nothing and it's [08:59] all it's also stay with me for the rest [09:02] of my life but now he's here and I can [09:06] look [09:07] forward to the future after we got [09:10] married and I know this experience will [09:14] stay with us like you say it is post [09:16] trauma and it's not post because we are [09:19] in the trauma right now [09:22] and I hope it will be better in the [09:25] future when we have kids and family [09:29] because we are here and we survive and [09:31] we need to live a normal life I hope [09:37] >> well it will be better because you will [09:39] make it better and and people that [09:42] support you and come together will will [09:46] help you make it better. And we'll talk [09:48] about that some more in a minute. You [09:50] always hear about survivors guilt. [09:54] Did you feel guilty that four went and [09:58] one returned? Did you question why you [10:03] >> always [10:04] always you can just imagine since then [10:09] was a producer of music festivals. So [10:13] every person in the dentist floor we [10:15] knew and we lost more than 48 friends [10:21] and [10:22] of course it will always with us and we [10:27] feel guilty after Aliyah got released [10:30] from captivity also felt guilty that he [10:33] is outside and his friends not. [10:35] >> Yeah. [10:37] You were taken. [10:39] How did they abduct you? How did they [10:43] get their hands on you and tell us about [10:46] that moment when you were abducted and [10:50] what went down? [10:52] >> So, think about it. All all what you [10:54] heard until now. It were just the the [10:56] few minutes of my new life and we were [10:59] under all the bodies, a lot of bloods [11:01] around us. Just five minutes ago, as if [11:04] me and Ze say goodbye to each other. [11:06] They've told me at least in the sky we [11:08] will be together and no one could [11:10] separate us there and the terrorist kept [11:13] throw the grenade inside. They kept a [11:15] lot and I remember how they shot RPG and [11:18] then was completely quiet and I knew [11:20] this is the the moment that they're [11:22] supposed to come in or to kidnap me or [11:25] to kill all of us. And I just closed my [11:28] eyes and when I opened them I saw three [11:31] terrorists with h youth smile and they [11:34] film a mass and one of them realized [11:36] that I'm alive. So he approached me and [11:37] and he told me come with me. And I said [11:40] I can't I just got shot on my leg. And [11:43] he point his gun to my head and he told [11:45] me if you're not come with me I will [11:46] shot you. And I just stood I moved [11:49] bodies. I didn't look behind to [11:51] understand what happened to Ze Karen and [11:53] Amit. and I got out from this shelter [11:56] and they started to kidnap me. You [11:57] mentioned here's Gulber police kidnapped [11:59] with me together and you mentioned Alen [12:01] oil. So we were all of us together and [12:04] the last thing I saw before being taken [12:06] to Gaza, it was one of the terrorist he [12:10] went back to the shelter to make sure [12:11] that no one was left alive. So he shot [12:14] many bullet to all direction and I knew [12:16] this is the moment that I lost everyone. [12:18] I lost Ze, Amit, Kharim and we started [12:21] to drive to Gaza to my new life. [12:25] We just have a few minutes left here. [12:29] Describe the darkest hour during your [12:32] captivity. What was the darkest hour for [12:34] you? [12:37] >> Well, describe 505 days with a lot of [12:40] tel to conversation like this. It's [12:42] really hard. But I had no any kind of [12:45] conditions. They didn't let me to to [12:47] change clothes or to get shower even to [12:49] eat or to drink. A lot of interrogation [12:51] violence. They chained me with every [12:53] iron chains by my leg. They put a lot of [12:56] LED in the wall because they didn't want [12:58] us to go to sleep. Every hour or two [13:01] hour they came and scream alakbar to to [13:03] our room because they want us really to [13:05] afraid from them. They didn't let us of [13:07] course to go to the restroom. So we pee [13:08] on oursel almost every week and it was [13:12] almost impossible to survive. But every [13:15] day I remind myself and I didn't let I [13:18] didn't let myself to tell to myself that [13:21] this is a hard situation because I saw [13:23] it as opportunity because I saw how many [13:26] people die on October 7 and I said [13:29] aliyah there is a chance you go back [13:31] home don't think about the violence [13:33] don't think about the terriel don't [13:35] think about everything just continue [13:37] stay strong and maybe you will maybe one [13:40] day you will come back home to your [13:42] family it's not just about my family and [13:44] the faith with God that God plans to me [13:46] this and maybe one day I will go home. [13:50] >> Well, two questions I I have for you in [13:53] in wrapping up. [13:55] What is your [13:57] defining emotion [13:59] about all of this right now? I is it [14:02] anger? Is it bitterness? Is it [14:05] um resolve? Do you seek forgiveness? [14:08] What to have forgiveness in your heart? [14:11] What is your defining emotion after 505 [14:15] days? [14:16] >> First I want to say that anger will not [14:17] give me nothing and if I want to [14:19] continue I can't be anger about nothing [14:22] but there is something that I want to [14:24] say that we live in Israel and way they [14:26] kidnapped me and I was chained and I was [14:28] kidnapped. I didn't was s I I wasn't [14:31] surprised because I chose to live in [14:34] Israel and I know with which enemy we we [14:38] are deal with and it's difficult because [14:42] in all the people in Israel are deal [14:44] with with with those situation they are [14:46] maybe not kidnapped but they walk in the [14:49] street of Tel Aviv and they sitting in [14:50] bar and they are afraid to to to got [14:52] shot or you can walk in in Jerusalem and [14:55] you're afraid that you that someone will [14:57] will kill you. So the all the rest of [15:00] Israel live the same situation. I don't [15:02] count myself as a as a spatial or [15:05] something just what happened to me. It's [15:07] different situation that someone in [15:09] Jerusalem went through. [15:14] If if there are attackers [15:18] that these terrorists that are watching [15:20] this right now, what would you say to [15:23] those terrorists that abducted you and [15:27] created this pain? If they're watching [15:29] right now, what do you say to them? [15:31] >> I won. [15:33] >> I won. Am I here? [15:36] And you're probably underground in your [15:37] tunnels with [applause] your humus and [15:40] your people. And I'm here. [15:45] >> [applause] [15:50] [applause] [15:52] >> you um [15:59] [applause] [16:03] and [applause] [16:05] you have you had no way of knowing. [16:09] But [16:10] the number one tool of the abuser is [16:13] isolation. You have no way of knowing. [16:16] But what do you say to the nation of [16:18] Israel and Jews around the world that [16:21] stood and fought for you every minute of [16:24] every day led by this amazing woman [16:28] right here? What do you say to Israel? [16:31] Is the Israeli people and Jews around [16:33] the world that stood and fought for you [16:35] every day? First of all, I love you and [16:39] I hug you and stay proud to be Jewish [16:41] and stay proud to be Israeli. And it's [16:45] it's not new. For thousands of years, [16:47] people have tried to hurt us. For the [16:50] for the world history, for the whole for [16:52] the world history, people have tried to [16:54] hurt us and maybe they can kill us. [16:56] Maybe they can rapt us, they can kidnap [16:58] us, but there is one thing they can take [16:59] from us and it's our identity. So stay [17:02] proud to be Jewish and we are here to [17:04] stay. [applause] [17:07] Well, let me tell you, it wasn't just [17:10] Jews. The rest of the world fought for [17:12] you, too. And I was among them, and it [17:14] was my honor to fight for you as well. [17:16] God bless you, and thank you both for [17:17] sharing. Thank you very much. [applause]
Eliya Cohen and Ziv Abud survived the horrors of October 7, 2023, when their lives were torn apart at the Nova Music Festival. Ziv survived the attack on a roadside bomb shelter and spent the next 505 days fighting for Elia’s return, while Elia endured captivity in Gaza—believing Ziv had been killed.
On the third anniversary of October 7, in a special interview filmed live in front of the United Nations, Dr. Phil sits down with Elia and Ziv as they share their extraordinary journey of survival, captivity, faith, love, and resilience and the remarkable reunion that gave them a second chance at a future together.
