October 7 · Personal story
Gali Tarshansky
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Kibbutz Be’eri
Current outcome
Released alive · November 29, 2023
Released after 54 days in captivity.
01
Life before October 7
Gali grew up in Be’eri. Her parents, Ilya and Reuma Aroussi, had separated, and she and her brother Lior spent half of each week with each parent. She was 12 when the attack began. She loved making TikToks, cooking and baking, playing volleyball with a local team, and spending time with dogs, including her dog Mocha.
02
Abduction
On the morning of October 7, Gali and Ilya ran to Lior’s bedroom, the family safe room. Ilya held the reinforced-room door shut. The attackers returned with a drill, bored holes in the door and threw homemade grenades inside. Shrapnel struck Lior’s shoulder; Ilya was wounded in his abdomen and arms. Smoke filled the room. Gali tried to open the bullet-resistant window for air, and gunfire came through it. Ilya lifted her out and jumped with her; Lior did not escape. Her father later described how the attackers continued firing after they jumped. He ran from the gunfire and became separated from Gali. Israeli soldiers found him that evening, but he did not know where his daughter was. Mocha was also killed during the attack.
03
Captivity
Gali was taken to Gaza after escaping the burning safe room. For weeks after the attack, her family searched for news of both children. Lior was identified among those killed; intelligence representatives later told the family that Gali was believed to be held in Gaza. Her parents moved to Tel Aviv and joined efforts to bring the hostages home. In a November 2023 interview, Ilya said he did not know how his daughter was being held and feared she might think both parents were dead. Her 13th birthday, on November 12, passed in captivity.
04
Return
Gali was released on November 29, 2023, after 54 days in captivity. Her parents, who survived the attack in separate places in Be’eri, were waiting to meet her.
05
Aftermath
At the reunion, Gali ran from the car into her mother’s arms, then saw Ilya and asked, “Wait, where is Lior?” Her family fell silent. In an October 2025 interview, Gali recalled that they had not realized she did not know what had happened to her brother.