Israeli hostages, now engaged, inform their story in Brookline, MA – NBC Boston

Two individuals who had been taken hostage in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, now engaged, advised their story Thursday evening in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Hamas kidnapped Sapir Cohen and Sasha Troufanov from kibbutz Nir Oz, separating them. Cohen was launched in November of 2023, whereas Troufanov was in captivity for 520 days.

The couple took half in a dialogue Thursday at Temple Emeth in Chestnut Hill.

“I used to be terrified,” Cohen mentioned. “I used to be shaking, and all my physique was moist.”

“I noticed, from beneath the mattress, the boot of the terrorist coming inside,” Troufanov recalled.

They had been visiting Troufanov’s household on the time.

“I noticed Sapir being taken out from the room, led by these terrorists,” he mentioned. “I stood up as nicely. I used to be taken out first.”

That was the final time the couple noticed one another for over a yr. Each hostages had been taken to Gaza.

Cohen spent 55 days in Hamas captivity.

“After I got here again, I felt a special particular person,” she mentioned. It was arduous to me to speak with people who’s not associated to the captivity.”

Troufanov was not launched till February of this yr. His mom and grandmother had been additionally taken, and his father was killed by Hamas.

“About my dad and mom, I did not know even what occurred, in the event that they had been killed or not,” Troufanov mentioned. “About Sapir, I at the very least imagined that she has been taken hostage, as a result of that is the very last thing I noticed.”

He was shot by means of each his legs whereas attempting to get away. The wound nonetheless impacts him — he used crutches to maneuver throughout the stage Thursday.

“The bullet pierced my left leg and broke the bone fully,” he mentioned.

As a hostage, he spent a lot of his time in isolation.

“There was, ready for me, a small house the place I’d keep for eight-and-a-half months,” Troufanov mentioned.

The couple was reunited when he was launched this yr. They grew to become engaged shortly after.

Thursday’s dialogue got here every week after Hamas launched the remaining 20 residing hostages. There are nonetheless 13 our bodies of hostages taken from Israel left in Gaza.

Cohen and Troufanov plan to get married in March.