Ex-hostage Maxim Herkin publishes book featuring a diary he secretly wrote in captivity |
Former hostage Maxim Herkin, who spent more than two years in Hamas captivity, has released his book, “Coming to Light,” recounting his survival in tunnels under the Gaza Strip.
The book’s full title in Hebrew is “The Captivity Diary of the Captain Who Kept a Secret.”
Herkin, 37, was taken captive on October 7, 2023, while fleeing the Palestinian terror group’s massacre at the Re’im-area Nova music festival, the first rave he ever attended. He was there with his friends Matías and Einav Burstein, who were murdered while trying to escape. He was released on October 13, 2025.
In the book, according to publisher Steimatzky, Herkin, a dual Russian-Israeli citizen and reserve captain in the Israel Defense Forces, shares a diary he secretly wrote and kept during his captivity.
He never told his captors that he was an IDF officer.
“Today, a story that lived inside me for a long time finally became a book,” wrote Herkin on social media. “I’m truly happy and grateful that this moment has arrived. I hope these........