October 7 · Personal story
Aviv Atzili
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Kibbutz Nir Oz
Current outcome
Returned for burial · June 11, 2025
Aviv was killed in the defense of Nir Oz on October 7, 2023. His remains were recovered from Gaza and returned to Israel on June 11, 2025; the IDF identified him publicly on June 15.
01
A maker in Nir Oz
Aviv was born and raised in Nir Oz. He built his home there with Liat, his partner, and their three children, Ofri, Neta and Aya. At the kibbutz he managed the agricultural garage, keeping machinery and tractors in working order; colleagues remembered a man whose days were often spent repairing equipment. He also rode his bicycle through the landscape he loved. His friend and former teacher Galia Heller said he created honestly, with a good eye and excellent aesthetic sense. Raw Art gallery owner Shimon Ben-Shabbat exhibited and sold his work after discovering it in Nir Oz; Aviv still had more projects in mind. Friend Yuval Mazour remembered his smile and the help he gave older neighbors.
02
October 7
When the first sirens sounded on October 7, 2023, Aviv left home to join Nir Oz’s emergency response team. He fought attackers and was killed in the battle. The IDF later stated that Islamic Jihad militants took his body from the kibbutz that day. Liat was taken from their home separately and held alive in Gaza. Their paths separated at the moment the kibbutz came under attack: Aviv defended his community, while Liat was carried away from the home they had made together.
03
The long wait for an answer
For roughly two months, the Atzili family and Nir Oz community knew little about Aviv and Liat’s fates. Liat was held in Gaza for 54 days and returned on November 29, 2023. The next day, the family told her that Aviv had been killed on October 7. His body remained in Gaza as the family waited for its return.
04
Remains returned
On June 11, 2025, Israeli forces recovered Aviv’s remains from the Khan Yunis area and brought them to Israel. On June 15, the IDF and Israel Security Agency announced that Aviv was the additional deceased hostage recovered in that operation. His remains returned after more than 20 months in Gaza.
05
Hands that kept making
Aviv’s hands repaired machinery and made art. He painted small scenes of the kibbutz on discarded tools and pieces of equipment, turning familiar objects into miniature landscapes. A gallery owner who exhibited his work recalled Aviv saying he was fortunate to move from agricultural work to sitting and making art with his hands. In an interview after Liat returned, she said the words he had once written for her on concrete would appear on his gravestone: “I will wait for you in the fields.” The line belongs to their shared life in Nir Oz, where the fields and his work remain joined in family memory.