Arbel Yehoud and her partner, Ariel Cunio : Survival.

On the morning of October 7, 2023, as sirens wailed and militants stormed communities across southern Israel, life inside Kibbutz Nir Oz collapsed in minutes. Among those trapped in the chaos were Arbel Yehoud and her partner, Ariel Cunio. They barricaded themselves in their safe room as gunfire drew closer, sending hurried messages to loved ones that militants were inside the kibbutz. Then the door was forced open. They were dragged out and taken across the border into Gaza. Within hours, they were separated.

That separation would define the next two years of their lives.

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Nir Oz was one of the hardest-hit communities in the October 7 assault. Residents were killed in their homes; others were abducted. For days, Arbel and Ariel’s families did not know whether they were alive. In captivity, Arbel would later recount, time dissolved into fear and uncertainty. She described isolation, starvation, physical violence, and relentless psychological pressure. She was moved between locations, cut off from reliable information, left to imagine what had happened to her family, her neighbors, and to Ariel.

After her release, Arbel spoke publicly about enduring repeated sexual abuse during captivity. She described it as occurring “almost every day,” part of a sustained pattern of degradation and control. Her testimony added to mounting accounts from other released hostages who reported sexual violence and abuse. She chose not to offer graphic detail, but she was clear about the severity of what she endured and the lasting trauma it inflicted. Israeli authorities later acknowledged that a significant number of freed hostages reported sexual assault or sexualized abuse during captivity.

What kept her alive, she said, was the belief that Ariel was somewhere nearby, also surviving. She replayed memories of their life together, clung to small mental rituals, and refused to let go of the possibility of reunion.

Arbel was held for 482 days. When she was released in January 2025 as part of a negotiated exchange, she emerged physically free but emotionally divided. Ariel was not among those freed. She later described her freedom as incomplete, saying that part of her remained in Gaza with him. In interviews and testimony before lawmakers, she urged Israeli leaders to prioritize negotiated agreements to bring the remaining hostages home. Military pressure alone, she argued, had not secured her release; negotiations had. She expressed frustration that more could have been done sooner.

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While Arbel began medical treatment and the long process of psychological rehabilitation, Ariel remained in captivity. Days stretched into months as negotiations faltered and resumed. Families of hostages campaigned relentlessly, pressing for deals to secure their loved ones’ return.

Ariel was finally released on October 13, 2025, after 738 days in captivity. Confirmation of his survival brought a surge of relief. The reunion between him and Arbel was described by those close to them as deeply emotional and fragile — joy intertwined with disbelief and the weight of everything they had endured. There were no triumphant speeches, only the quiet reality of two people who had survived prolonged captivity and separation.

Survival, however, did not erase trauma. Arbel has spoken about flashbacks, sleeplessness, and the difficulty of adjusting to a country still at war. She has continued to advocate for the release of any remaining captives and for recognition of the abuse many endured. Her testimony about sexual violence forced painful conversations in Israel and abroad about wartime atrocities and accountability.

Ariel, like many former hostages, began his own rehabilitation, addressing the physical and psychological toll of nearly two years in confinement. Together, they face the slow, uneven process of rebuilding — learning how to live beyond the dividing line of October 7.

Kibbutz Nir Oz remains scarred. Homes were destroyed, residents killed, others abducted. The community’s sense of safety was shattered. Arbel and Ariel’s story is inseparable from that wider devastation, a reminder that behind every statistic is a pair of lives abruptly torn from normalcy.

They were taken from their home in minutes. They endured 482 days apart. They survived 738 days in captivity in total. Their story is not one of politics or slogans, but of endurance — and of the complicated, unfinished work of coming home.

So happy they made it home.