October 7 · Personal story
Gadi Moshe Moses
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Kibbutz Nir Oz
Current outcome
Released alive · January 30, 2025
Released alive from captivity in Gaza after 482 days.
01
Life before
Gadi built much of his working life around plants, soil and the people who depended on them. An agronomist by profession, he advised farmers across several countries on growing crops and irrigation. He was among the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz and spent decades helping develop its agriculture. His work was practical and outward-looking: study the land, solve the immediate problem, then teach others what might work in their own fields. He shared nearly twenty years with Efrat Katz. The two loved quiet family gatherings, visits to wild landscapes abroad and tending their small garden. They belonged to the kibbutz wine group, contributing their knowledge to growing grapes and making wine. Children and grandchildren were central to Gadi’s family life; accounts describe a person who gave help freely and relished time with them.
02
Abduction
On October 7, 2023, Gadi was at home with Efrat, her daughter Doron and two young granddaughters, Raz and Aviv. When attackers entered and opened the safe-room door, Gadi stood in front of the others, trying to shield them. He was taken from the house while Efrat and the others remained behind. A later group seized them separately. Efrat, Doron and the girls were taken toward Gaza on a tractor-drawn trailer. The kibbutz account says an Israeli helicopter fired on the moving trailer; Efrat was fatally wounded and the others were later taken by other attackers. Gadi’s abduction and Efrat’s death were separate events in the same morning. Their family was split apart, and Gadi entered captivity not knowing what had happened to Efrat and the children.
03
Captivity
Gadi spent 482 days in captivity, much of it alone and above ground. His niece Efrat Machikawa said he moved between places and sometimes caught fragments of news. Through those fragments, he learned that his partner, Efrat Katz, had been killed. He kept his body and mind active by walking and counting steps, sometimes covering long distances in the spaces where he was held. He asked captors for books and thought about his work and future. On the day of his release, he was frightened by the crowd around the handover route and worried about Arbel Yehoud and Thai captives released before him. His family said he shared stories freely, while still not knowing the full scale of the destruction in Nir Oz.
04
Return
Gadi was released alive on January 30, 2025, after 482 days in Gaza. His children met him in Israel, and he was taken for medical care after the handover. In an interview published on February 2, his niece Efrat Machikawa said he had learned during captivity, through fragments of news, that his partner Efrat Katz had been killed. He was beginning to tell his family about the long months he had spent alone, his walks and the books he had requested. At that point, he still did not know the full extent of the destruction in Nir Oz.
05
Aftermath
After returning, Gadi spoke about rebuilding Nir Oz and reconnecting with the community he had helped establish. His homecoming also brought him back to a family grieving Efrat. She had been killed inside Israel on October 7, 2023, and had never been held hostage in Gaza. The Nir Oz community records that her remains were identified and returned to the kibbutz for burial on July 30, 2025. For Gadi, rebuilding community life followed survival, reunion with his children and the loss of the partner with whom he had shared nearly twenty years.