‘Pray this surgery will go as planned and I will stand on my own feet' - Former Israeli hostage Eliya Cohen undergoes surgery before his wedding

Former hostage Eliya Cohen will undergo surgery on his foot on Thursday, ahead of his wedding to his long-time girlfriend, and survivor of the Nova Festival massacre, Ziv Abud. 

Cohen announced the surgery on his social media account on Thursday morning, just before entering the operating room. He will have surgery to reconstruct and stabilize his leg bones, while also removing shrapnel left in his body after being shot in the foot during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacres. The surgery should help restore stability for his foot, while allowing him to stand for longer periods of time. 

Cohen spent 505 days in captivity and was released on February 22, 2025. 

The surgery will be the first complex operation to treat his foot injuries since his release. 

Cohen posted a video to his social media account, asking the Israeli public to pray for him 

“It's 5:30 in the morning and I'm stressed because right now I'm going to the hospital to have surgery that I've been putting off for quite some time,” Cohen shared in the video. 

“On October 7th, I was kidnapped in the Gaza Strip with a completely shattered foot, the result of the shooting we experienced in the bomb shelter,” he continued, while also sharing the reason for his delay in pursuing the reconstructive surgery. “Meeting in a hospital is something that is not easy for me, following the trauma I experienced in a hospital in Gaza. This is one of the reasons I don't go to rehabilitation in the hospital because this place overwhelms me.” 

Cohen also shared his fears that the surgery would not go well, and asked for prayer from the Israeli public. 

Hamas captivity survivor Eliya Cohen shares a deeply emotional message as he prepares to undergo surgery for the injuries he sustained during the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre. His words reflect both the pain he has endured and the extraordinary strength it takes to keep moving… pic.twitter.com/qx8Lk1YuwU

— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) April 9, 2026

“I also have a great fear that the surgery will not go as planned and what that means that I will not be able to stand at my own wedding. I want to believe that everything will be fine, that is precisely why you come into the picture. I want to ask you to pray for me that this surgery will go as planned, that with God's help I will stand on my feet and stand under the chuppah with Ziv and succeed in stepping on the glass. There is nothing in the world that I want more than that.” 

Cohen was referring to a tradition in which the groom smashes a wine glass with his foot during the wedding ceremony, as a way of commemorating the destruction of the Temple. 

“This would be the greatest victory in the world. So please, my brothers, take a second and read a chapter of Psalms, pray for Eliya, son of Sigalit, that this surgery will go as planned. I promise to keep you updated on the process, thank you very much.” 

Eliya and his fiancee Ziv are expected to get married in August.