October 7 · Personal story
Chaim Peri
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Kibbutz Nir Oz
Current outcome
Returned for burial · August 20, 2024
His body was returned to Israel on August 20, 2024; he was buried in Nir Oz on August 27.
01
Life before
Chaim Peri was born in Givatayim in 1944 and joined a group that settled in Nir Oz in 1962, according to the community profile. He worked as a welder, became an artist and sculptor, taught film at Sapir College and founded the White House gallery in Nir Oz in 1999. He wrote two children’s books. The gallery presented Jewish and Arab artists from the surrounding region and elsewhere in Israel. Artist friends added their sculptures to its garden, and exhibitions became a gathering place for artists and visitors. With Osnat, he raised a blended family of five children and had thirteen grandchildren. He also helped bring Gazan patients to Israel for treatment through On the Way to Recovery.
02
October 7
On October 7, 2023, attackers broke into Chaim and Osnat’s safe room in Nir Oz. Chaim fought off one attacker, who returned with three others. Chaim went with them quickly so they would not notice Osnat hiding inside; she survived and was rescued from the safe room hours later. Released hostage Yocheved Lifshitz told the family on October 23 that she had seen Chaim alive in Gaza. Her account was their first sign of life, though his family still did not know where he was or how long he would remain captive. The attack separated him from his family and the community where he had lived for decades.
03
Captivity
Chaim spent about four months in Hamas tunnels, according to the memorial biography. In November, other captives told Osnat he did not know she had survived the attack. On December 18, 2023, Hamas released a video showing him with fellow hostages Yoram Metzger and Amiram Cooper. His family and community continued to wait for news after the video.
04
Return
The National Insurance Institute’s memorial record dates Chaim’s death to February 14, 2024. The military confirmed his death on June 3, 2024, after receiving new intelligence, according to the Times of Israel. His body was returned to Israel on August 20, 2024, and he was buried in Nir Oz on August 27. The family waited months between confirmation and burial.
05
Aftermath
Chaim completed the text of his children’s book Yarena in summer 2023 and asked artist Ofra Eyal to illustrate it. His family and Eyal carried out his wish to publish it on his birthday, April 13, 2024, while he was still missing. His first children’s book, In Grandpa’s Yard, had been illustrated by his friend Dov Heller. The gallery he founded and the books he wrote continued to connect his art with Nir Oz and his family.