October 7 · Personal story
Eliyahu “Churchill” Margalit
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Nir Oz stable, where he went to check the mares
Current outcome
Returned for burial · October 18, 2025
Eliyahu was killed on 7 October 2023; his body returned to Israel overnight on 17–18 October 2025.
01
Life before
Eliyahu Margalit, known as Churchill, came to Nir Oz with a Nahal group from Hashomer Hatzair. He and Daphna built their home there over 34 years and raised Noa, Danny, and Nili; three grandchildren joined the family. Daphna describes Eli as someone who loved family, life, friends, and children. He built the kibbutz cattle-fattening branch into his life’s work and fought to keep it operating through difficult years. His love of animals began with a childhood aquarium and grew into the horse stables. He found calm with the horses and loved riding trips in Israel and abroad. For more than fifty years he rode with the South Riders. Friends recalled his detailed knowledge of feeding and animal care, and his affection for the animals.
02
7 October
On the morning of 7 October, after a Friday-night meal with family, Eli went for coffee and then to check the mares in the stable, as he did during every round of rocket fire. Daphna and their granddaughter Rumi stayed in the safe room. Rumi asked why her grandfather had not returned. Eli was killed at the stable beside the horses he loved and never came back to say goodbye. His body was taken to Gaza after his death.
03
After the attack
On 1 December 2023, the Israeli military announced that Eliyahu had been killed and that his body was held in Gaza. His family waited for his remains to return.
04
Return for burial
Eliyahu’s body returned to Israel after midnight on 18 October 2025, during the night between Friday and Saturday, and was identified that morning. He was buried in Nir Oz.
05
Remembered
Friends, family, and Nir Oz residents restored the stable, which resumed work in June 2024. Daphna wrote that the family was living in Karmey Gat with the memories, light, and warmth Eli had spread, and hoped to return to Nir Oz. For his friends, the horses, cattle operation, and long rides were inseparable from his care for living things.