'Because of you, I’m here' - Released hostage Maxim Herkin rejoins IDF after 738 days in Hamas captivity

Maxim Herkin was among the last 20 living hostages that were recently released by the terrorist organization Hamas as part of the Gaza agreement brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump. After spending 738 difficult days in Hamas captivity, the 36-year-old Capt. (res.) Herkin announced on Tuesday, at an Israeli military ceremony, that he would rejoin his IDF unit. He thanked the Israeli people and the IDF for bringing him back home to freedom.

“Thank you so much,” Herkin said in his address to the crowd. “Thanks to you, I came home to my civilian family a few days ago, and today, thanks to you, I came home to my family in uniform. I grew up in the Transport Center during my regular service and continued here in the reserves. This unit has always meant so much to me – it’s my military life. We all have civilian lives and lives in uniform, and I have to thank you,” Herkin stated in his emotional speech. 

He continued by stressing his gratitude towards fellow Israeli military reservists who have been fighting for Israel since the Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.

“From October 7 until today, you have given up your civilian lives for your military ones because there is a higher purpose. In my eyes, it’s sacred work. You give your time, your strength, and your spirit so that we win, so that you bring us home. There are no words for how grateful I am – because of you, I’m here,” Herkin argued. 

He was kidnapped by Hamas forces when he attended the Nova festival as a civilian on Oct. 7, 2023. In April 2025, Hamas released the first hostage video with Herkin. Since he is a dual Israeli and Russian national, Moscow was pressuring Hamas to prioritize his release. The senior Hamas official Abu Marzouk responded at the time by telling the Russian government that the terror group was willing "to prioritize Herkin."

In May, Hamas released a second video of the Russian-Israeli hostage.

Following his release earlier this month, Herkin’s family revealed that Hamas held him “in inhumane conditions” but stressed that he displayed  “tremendous physical and emotional strength.”

Speaking to Israel's Channel 13 News merely two days after his release, Herkin revealed that the protest movement in Israel on behalf of the hostages constituted a source of strength that helped him survive “in the hell of Hamas captivity.” 

“Every citizen in Israel – your victory is ours,” Herkin said in the interview with Channel 13 News. “You gave us strength. Every time we managed to see something, we were stunned by the demonstrations and everything happening in the country. That’s the moment you realize you matter, that no one has forgotten you, that people are fighting for you and won’t stop until you come home."

Herkin explained why he apologized to his mother after he was freed from captivity. 

“In the end, I went to a party. I told her I’d be back in the morning – and it took me two years. I said sorry that it took a bit longer than I thought,” he said. Despite the long and difficult captivity, Herkin said he was convinced that he would eventually return home to Israel. 

“I had an inner feeling. You see what’s happening, and you realize there’s no option not to return. My people wouldn’t let that happen. I knew my mother was a fighter,” he concluded.