Israeli hostages recount harrowing experience

In front of a packed audience at Martha’s Vineyard Performing Arts Center last week, Chabad on the Vineyard hosted a conversation with two survivors of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, both of whom were held hostage in tunnels under Gaza for months, and who described the harrowing events that led them there.

Sasha Troufanov and Sapir Cohen were living in a kibbutz community called Nahal Oz near the Palestinian border during the time of the brutal attack. They described surviving bullet fire, living in harsh conditions on meager rations, and how they coped by embracing their faith. 

Rabbi Tzvi Alperowitz and his wife, Hadassah Alperowitz, co-directors of the Chabad on the Vineyard, interviewed the two Israelis for more than an hour on the PAC stage. 

“Perhaps their story tonight can inspire us,” Rabbi Alperowitz told the crowd last week. “Maybe it will remind us that miracles can and still do happen. Even in the darkest places there is hope. Even in the most difficult moments of our lives, we can find the strength and courage to persevere.” 

Before he began the conversation with Cohen and Troufanov, the rabbi asked for a moment of silent prayer for the 50 hostages still held in Gaza, and for them to come home safely. 

Cohen was held in captivity — ferried between different houses and into the tunnels of Gaza — for more than 50 days; she was released in November 2023. Troufanov was not released until February of this year.

As the two described, early in the morning of Oct. 7, both were woken by the sound of sirens and explosions. They received a message from family that there were terrorists in their kibbutz, right outside Troufanov’s family’s home. They could hear shouting and gunshots that kept getting closer and closer. In what they described as a moment of terror, the two, wrapped in a blanket, hid under a bed and waited. Eventually, they said, Hamas terrorists broke through the door; they were separated, bound, and put on the back of motorcycles.

Troufanov described how he initially tried to run away, but soon realized how Hamas insurgents had overwhelmed the kibbutz. He said that he was shot in both legs, one that grazed his bone. He was then driven into Gaza. On the way, he was able to see that his parent’s home had been completely burned. He would later come to find out that his father had been killed, and that his mother had also been taken. 

Both Troufanov and Cohen described the scene in Gaza as celebratory. While being driven into the city, there was cheering at their capture, and citizens kicked and punched at them. “I remember feeling that this was the place I would die,” Troufanov said.

In captivity, both described living in poor conditions, surviving on at most one meal a day and dirty water. While in the tunnels under Gaza, they said that there was a dank smell, and everything was wet. They had minimal clothing, and showered once a week.

Cohen said she leaned into her faith to help her survive. She questioned why God had put her in the tunnels, but eventually she came to realize that she wanted to help the other hostages. She realized that she had a knack for making light of horrible situations, which helped others. In one anecdote she shared, she joked with another hostage about being able to see the main attraction in Gaza — the tunnels under the city.

“I wasn’t sure if I would stay alive, but after some time I was happy, or in peace, because I felt that God gave me the last wish that I wanted,” she said, describing that she felt like she was easing anxiety for the others captured. “I decided that I wanted to help others, and I felt like a new person.”

Troufanov said that he was an atheist before Oct. 7, but that he taught himself to pray while in captivity. And he began to learn that it helped him stay optimistic. “During difficult times, I started to think positively, and started to appreciate the future,” he said. “If I were to get out one day, I would devote myself to helping others.”

Asked if he saw any humanity while held in Gaza, Troufanov described meeting a young Palestinian girl who was the daughter of a guard. Initially, the 6-year-old struck him on the leg in an act of aggression. But slowly over time, the girl became more affectionate, until one day she gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. Troufanov said that it was the first time he had received affection since he was taken hostage, and it surprised him, though he said that her father was even more surprised. Still, Troufanov said that he was saddened by the interaction, noting that her love for him was real, but that she was so indoctrinated with hate at such a young age to show hate toward him as an Israeli. He hoped that by speaking to audiences, he could convey the importance of education about Israel and what he experienced, to make sure another Oct. 7 doesn’t occur. 

In a moment of levity, Cohen described that when she was released, she spent a lot of time with Troufanov’s mother. The mother was depressed to the point of suicide, she said, but Cohen tried to cheer her up, offering to have twins with Troufanov when he came home. They would go shopping for clothes for the twins, she described, and when that didn’t work to cheer her up, the twins became six children. Alperowitz joked that they would have to have the duo return to the Island after they had their six children. 

Cohen also described that through their shared experience, Troufanov and she grew closer. Before Oct. 7, she admitted, the two had their struggles. While she was faithful, he didn’t believe in God. And she said that he tended to think of the negatives instead of being appreciative for what they had. When he came back, she heard him say that he had prayed for his mom, and that shocked her. During the helicopter ride on their way back, she asked him what was the first thing he wanted to do. He replied that he just wanted to go to a pretty place and look at the sky. “That was not the Sasha I knew,” Cohen said. “Now I know why I had waited for him all this time.”

Following the talk, Rabbi Alperowitz said that the two hostages and their experience had inspired him and others he has spoken to.

“Sapir and Sasha were kidnapped from their home and experienced the worst possible terror, and yet they chose to channel that darkness into a source of inspiration for themselves and for everyone they could reach,” Alperowitz told The Times. “That idea is incredibly inspiring for me and for the hundreds who came to listen to them, and it shows us the power faith has to help people find purpose, even in the most difficult and challenging times.”