October 7 · Personal story
Carmel Gat
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Kibbutz Be’eri
Current outcome
Returned for burial · August 31, 2024
Her body was returned to Israel on August 31, 2024; BTL records her death date separately as August 29.
01
Life before
Carmel Gat was born and raised in Kibbutz Be’eri, the oldest of three siblings. Friends called her Melly. She moved to Tel Aviv as a young adult, where she lived with roommates and met her longtime partner, Ruvi. Before earning her degree, she worked in several caring and service roles: delivering sandwiches to offices, assisting disabled university students and working as an au pair. She completed a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy at Tel Aviv University and was already in the second year of a master’s program at Hebrew University when she was killed. After a fourteen-year relationship ended, she traveled in India for several months and returned on October 1, 2023. A kibbutz eulogy remembered her as a loving older sister who shared cultural life with her younger brothers. She loved podcasts and music, dancing and drinking wine by the beach. The Times of Israel describes her as curious, confident and attentive to justice.
02
October 7
After returning from India on October 1, 2023, Carmel went to Be’eri for a family holiday weekend. On October 7, she was visiting her parents, Eshel and Kinneret, with her siblings and relatives. The family entered the safe room as sirens sounded. The KAN family timeline recounts that attackers entered the home, seized Carmel and her mother, and later returned in search of other family members. Her brother Alon escaped with his daughter Geffen; her sister-in-law Yarden Roman-Gat was also abducted and later released. Carmel was taken from the kibbutz into Gaza. Her mother Kinneret was killed in the attack.
03
Captivity
Carmel was held captive for eleven months. Released hostages told her family that they had seen her alive in Gaza and that she was with children. They reported that she did yoga daily with younger hostages before those children were freed.
04
Return
The National Insurance Institute’s memorial record dates Carmel’s death to August 29, 2024, and her return to Israel to August 31. The Times of Israel reported that the military announced the recovery on September 1. She was buried in Be’eri on September 2, next to her mother. The Times of Israel reported that she was killed alongside five other hostages.
05
Aftermath
At the funeral, brothers Ori and Alon spoke of wanting Carmel there to hug them and look into their eyes. They remembered her appetite for life and the beauty, variety and love she brought. Friend Vita Kairys wrote that Carmel sought belonging and meaning and made courageous choices with curiosity and confidence. Family and friends described how much they missed sharing daily life with her.