Former Hostage Shlomi Ziv Breaks His Silence “After 246 Days in Hell, I’m Finally Speaking”

Shlomi Ziv, a 42-year-old former hostage, captivated nearly 300 attendees at the Valley Train heritage site in Kfar Yehoshua, launching his “Homeward Bound” talk series under the sweltering Jezreel Valley heat. Kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023, while working security at the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, Ziv endured 246 days in captivity before his daring rescue on June 8, 2024, by Israel’s Shin Bet, IDF, and Yamam counterterrorism unit, an operation named after fallen officer Arnon Zamora, who died in the mission. “We owe it to Shlomi to come and listen,” said an attendee from Kibbutz Yifat. “We’ve come to bear witness.”

Speaking for over an hour against the backdrop of the historic stone train station, Ziv recounted a prior military trauma that left him with PTSD, preparing him for the horrors of captivity. “I prayed for a missile or a combat helicopter to strike the car. At that moment, I would’ve preferred to die,” he said of his abduction. Held with Almog Meir Jan and Andrey Kozlov, he faced starvation, “one pita a day”, and psychological torment, with captors showing only footage of attacks on Israel. “They showed us only footage of attacks on Israel and IDF soldiers. Everything was aimed at breaking us,” he shared. The June rescue, extracting Ziv, Jan, Kozlov, and Noa Argamani from Nuseirat, involved chaos, gunfire, and a stuck vehicle saved by 12 encircling tanks. “At 11 a.m., I was still a hostage in Gaza. By 1 p.m., I was free,” Ziv recalled.

The event, part of the Society for Preservation of Israel Heritage Sites’ “Stories that Bind Us” initiative, supported by the Jewish National Fund–USA, fosters healing through storytelling at over 200 heritage sites. “This site is a living witness to the stories that built this land, and tonight, with Shlomi’s story, we add a new chapter,” said site manager Dikla Liani. A poignant Q&A moment saw a soldier’s father, whose son manned the first rescue tank, say, “My son sends you his love,” moving Ziv visibly. Asked how to support returning hostages, Ziv replied, “You’re already doing everything that needs to be done. The public has been wonderful. We feel embraced. We feel loved. Thank you for the opportunity to tell my story. This is how I intend to heal.” After the talk, Ziv met the soldier’s parents, viewing a video of their dust-covered son beaming post-rescue. “Send my love right back to him,” Ziv said. “Tell him thank you.”