October 7 · Personal story
Ilana Gritzewsky
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Kibbutz Nir Oz
Current outcome
Released alive · November 30, 2023
Released after 55 days in captivity on November 30, 2023; partner Matan Zangauker returned on October 13, 2025.
01
A home she chose
Ilana made aliyah from Mexico and first lived in Eilat. She had long wanted life on a kibbutz; in Nir Oz she found the close community she had imagined and brought a small home-based pastry business with her. Her move also began with an ordinary request: her furniture was too heavy to assemble alone, so she asked Matan Zangauker for help. They became a couple, and she gradually brought him from Ofakim to the kibbutz. They built a home together and worked in agriculture at Canndoc’s greenhouses, planting and harvesting. Baking and the greenhouse work belonged to the same daily life they made there.
02
Taken from Nir Oz
On October 7, 2023, attackers entered the couple’s home in Nir Oz. Ilana and Matan tried to get out through the safe-room window and were taken separately. Ilana later told Ynet that she was seized in her pajamas, struck in the head and injured during the abduction. She lost consciousness while being carried on a motorcycle and woke in Gaza. Ilana recalled the force of the attack, the burn left by the motorcycle exhaust, and the shock of waking among people she did not know. The couple’s last moments at home ended without a chance to say goodbye.
03
Days without knowing where Matan was
In Gaza, Ilana was moved between houses and later into a tunnel. She described serious injuries, vomiting from stress and being held with armed men. The next day Liat Atzili, another resident of Nir Oz, was brought to her; they spent most of their captivity together. For weeks Ilana did not know where Matan was. The day before her release she learned he was in the same tunnel. She begged to see him but was refused, and asked others to tell him she would do anything to get him free.
04
Released after 55 days
Ilana was released on November 30, 2023, after 55 days in captivity. She reunited with her mother and family in Israel, while Matan remained captive.
05
A promise carried beyond her return
After returning, Ilana kept speaking publicly for Matan’s release. She described difficulty sleeping and said ordinary routines remained hard; food, rest and permission to use a bathroom had become things she needed to ask for. Matan was released alive on October 13, 2025, after 738 days in captivity. About three months later, he proposed to Ilana.