Former hostage and IDF Armored Corps soldier Nimrod Cohen, who was abducted to Gaza on October 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led attacks and held captive for nearly two years, says he intends to return to military service in a preview of an interview with Channel 12 news.
In the interview, set to be broadcast in full this weekend, Cohen says he is currently undergoing a process to take on a new role in the army, explaining that returning to a structured framework and routine would aid his recovery.
“I didn’t really do my service, the way I see it,” Cohen says, noting that he served only about 10 months — out of the 32 that are required of men in compulsory service — before being kidnapped, including roughly two months in operational activity.
“The rest of the time I was in training or exercises and didn’t really do what I define as meaningful service,” Cohen explains.
Cohen was seized from his tank during the Hamas-led onslaught, in which the rest of his crew were killed. He was released in October 2025 as part of a deal that secured the current ceasefire agreement.
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