October 7 · Personal story
Chen Goldstein-Almog
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Her home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, southern Israel
Current outcome
Released alive · November 26, 2023
Returned to Israel with Agam, Gal, and Tal after 51 days in captivity, during the third stage of the November hostage deal.
01
Life before October 7
Chen and Nadav’s partnership began in high school. They made their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza and raised four children: Yam, Agam, Gal, and Tal. Nadav was a triathlete and business-development executive at Kafrit Industries, where he mentored younger colleagues. After a serious bike accident a few months before October 7, Yam took leave from the army to care for him. Chen recalled how much it meant to have their eldest daughter close during that recovery.
02
October 7
At 6:29 a.m. on October 7, sirens woke the family in Kfar Aza. They hid under a bed and behind a wardrobe in the safe room as gunfire and shouting moved closer. When attackers entered, Nadav tried to stop them and was shot at close range. Yam, 20, was also killed. Chen and Agam were briefly separated from the boys as Chen tried to reach Yam. The attackers abducted Chen, Agam, Gal and Tal in Chen’s car. The family reached Gaza around 12:20. Chen later recalled the children’s stunned faces during the short drive.
03
In captivity
Chen spent 51 days in captivity with her three children. Their first week was in a tunnel, followed by an apartment; during the first month they were moved repeatedly at night and guarded around the clock. Chen described nearby bombardment as physical panic and dread. She tried to keep the children quiet while they drew, wrote, and played. At first, the family did not know for certain that Nadav and Yam had died. A radio broadcast eventually confirmed their deaths when an interviewer expressed condolences to Chen’s father; Chen said that was the first time Gal cried.
04
Return
On November 26, 2023, Chen returned to Israel with Agam, Gal and Tal after 51 days in Gaza. They travelled in a Red Cross convoy to the border and were transferred to Israeli forces. In her recorded interview, Chen called that moment the saddest happiness of her life: she knew Nadav would not be there to hug her, and wanted someone to hold her and say she was safe. The family was flown by helicopter for hospital checks. She recalled that reaching Israeli forces suddenly felt like magic after fear continued until the end of captivity.
05
After return
In an October 2024 interview, Chen described life in a temporary home whose address she kept private. She said telling the family’s story several times a week helped her process it, even though it exhausted her. Sport and a team of therapists and advisers were part of rebuilding daily life. The boys had psychological support and school to return to; Agam joined a pre-army program. Chen remembered Yam’s energy and confidence and Nadav as a devoted partner and father. She said she would not allow October 7 to define the family, while continuing to live with their losses.