(Ynet News) Dan Raban - Following the heroic rescue of their son, Andrey Kozlov, his parents, Evgeniia and Mikhail, shared some details about his ordeal in captivity. Andrey was abducted on Oct. 7 from the Nova music festival in Kibbutz Re'im, where he worked as a security guard. He was rescued Saturday, after 246 days in Hamas captivity. Evgeniia said, "I felt real pain from one of the sentences Andrey said: 'We experienced things that I will never tell you.' He told us that for two months, they were tied up by their hands and feet. In the first weeks, their hands were tied behind their backs, and after they started tying their hands in front, they joked it was a gift from the terrorists." "June 8 has become a day of celebration. All Israelis want to share in our happiness, as if we've become part of them, part of their family. They are all so happy for us. When we're on the street and Andrey is with us, people shout from their cars, 'We're so glad you're back! We're so happy for you!' They shout this to him, to us. It's amazing." "We want to show how grateful we are to the IDF and all the security forces who conducted this heroic operation....[Andrey] said that when he held onto the soldiers' uniforms or hands, he felt he was beside true heroes. For him, they are superheroes who fear nothing." "I also want to extend my condolences to the family of Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, who fell in the line of duty. To his mother and father, his wife and his young children - I am not one to cry often, but when I learned that Andrey was saved and the next day found out that Arnon had fallen in battle, I cried deeply....Their son is a superhero; his profession was to be a hero, and I have never known people like them, but they are the reason Israel stands. They are the national pride of Israel."
2024-06-13 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive