From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Ex-hostage Maxim Herkin, a captain in the reserves, appears in uniform after release
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Released hostage Maxim Herkin, who is a captain in the IDF reserves, attended a ceremony for outstanding soldiers in his unit last night while wearing his uniform for the first time in over two years.
Herkin, a dual Russian-Israeli citizen, was abducted by Hamas terrorists from the Nova music festival near Re’im on October 7, 2023, and released last week.
"בזכותם חזרתי הביתה. תמיד היחידה הזאת הייתה חלק מהחיים שלי": סרן (במיל') מקסים הרקין הגיע, לבוש במדים, לטקס המצטיינים בראשות מפקד מרכז ההובלה, שם פגש את חבריו. הרקין סיים קורס קצינים כחודשיים לפני שנחטף והיה אמור להתחיל את שירות המילואים שלו כמפקד מחלקה ב-9 באוקטובר 2023… pic.twitter.com/TRMJRadqy3
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) October 22, 2025
“Thanks to you, I returned home to my civilian family a few days ago. And today, I returned to my family in uniform,” Herkin said at the ceremony.
Herkin served in the Technological and Logistics Directorate’s Transportation Center — the IDF unit responsible for transport in the military, especially of heavy cargo — during his mandatory service and in the reserves.
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