October 7 · Personal story
Daniel Perez
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Nahal Oz outpost
Current outcome
Returned for burial · October 13, 2025
His remains were returned to Israel on October 13, 2025; identification was completed and the family informed on October 14.
01
Life before
Daniel was born in Johannesburg and grew up in the Glenhazel neighborhood, where his father served as a community rabbi and educator for 15 years. His family moved to Israel in 2014, shortly after Daniel’s bar mitzvah, and settled in Yad Binyamin. He left his home and friends behind; his father remembered that Daniel got on his bicycle on the first day and came home with a new friend. He kept close relationships with friends in Israel and the Diaspora through high school and after joining the army. At home he shared his family’s religious and Zionist commitments, while making friends across different Jewish communities. Daniel loved high-energy sports. He took up wakeboarding, became skilled at flips, and tore his ACL after falling from a ramp. After nine months of physical therapy, he kept training at an athletic rehabilitation center to qualify for combat service.
02
Service and October 7
Daniel had hoped to follow his older brother Yonatan into the Paratroopers, but the knee injury changed his path. He raised his military profile through rehabilitation and became an Armored Corps tank commander in the 77th Battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade. His father described their family as physically active and said both sons chose combat service. Daniel was a tank commander at Nahal Oz and had recently returned to the base, looking forward to coming home for Yonatan’s wedding on October 17. When the attack began on October 7, he ran to his tank and fought with his crew. The tank’s internal recorder preserved two hours and sixteen minutes of their communications. During the last part of the battle, Daniel climbed out to help Golani sharpshooters.
03
His body held in Gaza
The tank was eventually overrun and Daniel was killed on October 7; his body was taken to Gaza. For three weeks, his family had no information about whether he was alive. His father said they later learned that Daniel’s blood-stained uniform had been found the day after the attack and that he had been injured. In March 2024, the IDF informed the family that Daniel had been killed on October 7 and that Hamas held his body. The family had campaigned for his return while also learning about the final battle from the tank’s recording.
04
Return
Hamas returned Daniel’s remains to Israel on October 13, 2025, two years and six days after the attack. The IDF completed identification and informed the family the following day. In August 2026, his parents Doron and Shelley met South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and thanked him for the government’s role in facilitating the return.
05
Aftermath
Daniel’s family held a second funeral at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery two days after the return, on October 15. A first burial had taken place after the IDF’s 2024 death notice, when the family buried his blood-stained clothing; returning the remains allowed them to hold a funeral for Daniel himself. His father and sister had spent much of the waiting period meeting communities and advocating for the hostages. Daniel’s family described the return as a chance to bury him properly after more than two years without his remains.