{"id":123017,"date":"2025-10-13T15:06:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T15:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/10\/13\/israeli-mother-interviewed-by-capital-fm-in-may-reunites-with-son-after-2-years-in-hamas-captivity\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T15:06:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T15:06:38","slug":"israeli-mother-interviewed-by-capital-fm-in-may-reunites-with-son-after-2-years-in-hamas-captivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/israeli-mother-interviewed-by-capital-fm-in-may-reunites-with-son-after-2-years-in-hamas-captivity\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli Mother interviewed by Capital FM in May reunites with son after 2 years in Hamas captivity"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 13 \u2014 Twenty living Israeli hostages were freed on Monday under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, ending more than two years of captivity. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Among them is 20-year-old IDF soldier Nimrod Cohen, whose mother, Viki Cohen, spoke to us in May while he was still missing. She said today, \u201cI am so happy to be reunited with my son.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The hostages were transferred out of Gaza to the Israel Defence Force\u2019s (IDF)\u2019s Re\u2019im base and flown to hospitals in central Israel for medical checks and reunions with families. <\/p>\n

Footage released by Israeli outlets showed Nimrod Cohen among those handed over to troops.<\/p>\n

In May, speaking at the Hostages\u2019 Families Forum offices in Tel Aviv, Viki Cohen issued a direct plea to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prioritise negotiations over continued strikes. \u201cWhy is Prime Minister Netanyahu continuing with airstrikes when our loved ones are still held in Gaza?\u201d she asked, fighting back tears. \u201cMy son is alive in there. Fighting is not the priority \u2014 bringing them home is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cohen argued that public sentiment had shifted in favour of talks to secure releases. By her account, \u201cnearly 70%\u201d of Israelis preferred a ceasefire to enable a comprehensive hostage deal. She urged the government to \u201cbring them home first,\u201d saying every additional day of combat compounded families\u2019 fear and uncertainty. <\/p>\n

She appealed for restraint until all captives were accounted for, pressing the government to pursue any viable mediated arrangement. Emphasising Nimrod\u2019s youth and vulnerability, Cohen said a negotiated outcome was the only path that balanced Israel\u2019s security with the families\u2019 urgent demand for the safe return of their loved ones.<\/p>\n

Officials and international media said Monday\u2019s release is part of a wider agreement that pauses fighting, sees all 20 surviving hostages returned, and includes the release of large numbers of Palestinian detainees and prisoners by Israel. The deal followed intensive mediation and high-level diplomacy. <\/p>\n

In May 2025, during our visit to Israel, Viki described months of fear and uncertainty as families campaigned for the captives\u2019 return. \u201cWhy is more fighting the priority when our loved ones are still in Gaza? Bringing them home is what matters,\u201d<\/em> she told us then. <\/p>\n

\nAfrican Journalists Walk Through Horror at Hamas Massacre Sites in Israel<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

Today, she said her family\u2019s focus is Nimrod\u2019s health and privacy as doctors complete assessments before rehabilitation begins. <\/p>\n

Trump in Israel<\/strong><\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Israel on Monday and addressed the Knesset, declaring it was time to translate the hostage release into steps toward peace.<\/p>\n

He is expected to take part in a follow-on summit in Egypt aimed at consolidating the ceasefire and advancing political talks.<\/p>\n

Officials and international media said Monday\u2019s release is part of the wider agreement under which all 20 surviving hostages return while Israel frees large numbers of Palestinian detainees and prisoners, with further negotiations to follow.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 13 \u2014 Twenty living Israeli hostages were freed on Monday under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, ending more than two years of captivity. Among them is 20-year-old IDF soldier Nimrod Cohen, whose mother, Viki Cohen, spoke to us in May while he was still missing. She said today, \u201cI am so happy to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123017\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}