“I came home a few days ago to my civilian family, and today, thanks to you, I have returned to my family in uniform.”
By The IDF Club
For the first time since being freed from Hamas captivity, Captain (Res.) Maxim Herkin stood proudly in his IDF uniform, addressing his comrades at the Transportation Center’s commendation ceremony on Tuesday night.
The 36-year-old officer from Tirat Carmel had been abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, just two months after completing officer training, and spent nearly two years as a hostage in Gaza before his release last week.
Appearing before his fellow soldiers, Herkin spoke with visible emotion and gratitude: “I came home a few days ago to my civilian family, and today, thanks to you, I have returned to my family in uniform.”
Herkin served in the Technological and Logistics Directorate’s Transportation Center, the IDF unit responsible for military transport and heavy logistics operations, both during his mandatory service and in the reserves.
The unit has long been central to his military journey, a place, he said, that shaped his identity as a soldier and leader. “I grew up in the Transportation Center during my mandatory service and also continued in reserve duty. This unit has always been very important in my life.”
The officer’s return to uniform marked a deeply symbolic moment for his comrades, many of whom have served tirelessly in Gaza since the October 7 attacks.
Herkin’s survival and steadfast composure throughout captivity embody the determination and resilience that have come to define the IDF in wartime.
Herkin’s abduction occurred under chaotic circumstances. He had been attending the Nova festival near Re’im when Hamas terrorists stormed the site, killing and abducting hundreds.
Though he had only recently graduated from the IDF’s Officer Training Course, Herkin was wearing civilian clothes at the time. His mother, Tella, later revealed that he discreetly disposed of his military identification card before being taken, a decision that may have saved his life.
Throughout his captivity, Herkin managed to conceal his position as an IDF officer, a fact his family intentionally kept from public view. “The reason I didn’t want to talk about my son is simply that I was silent because he is an officer,” his mother said. “I was afraid, it was a mother’s fear. I didn’t know exactly what they [Hamas] knew there.”
Herkin’s ability to maintain that secret for nearly two years reflects not only his discipline but also his unwavering commitment to his fellow soldiers and to the values of the IDF.
Standing before the Transportation Center this week, he addressed the troops with humility and reverence for their continued service. “This is my military life. We have a life in civilian clothes, and we have a life in uniform,” he said. “I must thank you, that from October 7 until today you are contributing your civilian lives for the sake of your military lives. There is a higher purpose, in my eyes, this is a sacred mission, you are contributing your time, your strength, and your soul for us to win, for us to bring them home. Because of you, I am here.”
Following his release, Herkin was treated at Sheba Tel HaShomer Hospital before returning home to Tirat Carmel. Greeted by cheering residents waving Israeli flags, he took the stage to thank them, draped in the flag himself, and delivered a heartfelt message of unity and perseverance: “I thank you, and I ask you not to lose the unity.”
Now back among his soldiers, Captain Herkin stands as a living symbol of Israel’s unbreakable spirit, a man who endured two years in the darkness of captivity only to return home and resume his place in the army that never stopped fighting for him.
