October 7 · Personal story
Elad Katzir
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
His home in Kibbutz Nir Oz
Current outcome
Returned for burial · April 6, 2024
Murdered in captivity on January 13, 2024. His body was recovered from Khan Younis on April 6 and buried in Nir Oz on April 7, 2024.
01
Before October 7
Elad was born in Kibbutz Nir Oz on April 17, 1976, the middle child of Hanna and Rami Katzir and brother to Avital and Carmit. After service in the Combat Engineering Corps and a long trip abroad, he returned to build his home in the kibbutz. He worked as an irrigation coordinator in its fields, knew the land closely and loved the crops. Elad served on the kibbutz secretariat, emergency team and fire team, helped lead community events and emceed the Shavuot soccer tournament. He was a devoted uncle who took children into the fields and taught his nieces and nephews to drive a tractor. He also followed Maccabi Haifa, travelling to matches in Israel and abroad. For years he joined weekly vigils calling for the return of Hadar Goldin, Oron Shaul and other captives. On October 6, 2023, he attended that vigil.
02
October 7
At about 6:29 a.m. on October 7, Elad woke to alarms and rocket fire in Nir Oz. He stayed in his protected room, followed updates and tried to alert others when attackers entered the kibbutz. At 9:42 he sent his sisters a voice message saying, “We need resilience”; minutes later he told Carmit by phone that armed attackers were inside his home. Around 10 a.m., he was abducted to Gaza. His father Rami was killed in Nir Oz that day, while his mother Hanna was also taken hostage and released after 49 days.
03
Captivity
Elad was listed as missing for 44 days before his family learned he was alive. Reports from women released in November 2023 said he had been moved between homes in Gaza, remained cautiously optimistic and tried to exercise. Islamic Jihad released two videos of him during captivity. He was murdered by his captors on January 13, 2024, after 99 days in captivity; the family learned of his death only when his body was recovered in April.
04
Return
Israeli forces recovered Elad’s body from Khan Younis on April 6, 2024, after intelligence located his burial place. He had been dead for nearly three months. The family buried him in Nir Oz the next day, April 7, in the kibbutz whose fields he had worked and loved. He was 47. His remains were returned for burial; he did not return alive from captivity.
05
After his death
Elad was buried beside his father, Rami. His mother Hanna returned from captivity but died on December 24, 2024, from the effects of her captivity. His sisters remembered him as a devoted brother and uncle, a farmer, a friend and a source of humor. His gravestone recalls fields, earth, laughter and embraces. His life in Nir Oz also included the children he took into the fields, the community roles he filled and the football journeys he made to follow Maccabi Haifa.