October 7 · Personal story
Karina Ariev
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Nahal Oz military base
Current outcome
Released alive · January 25, 2025
Released during the second exchange under the ceasefire arrangement after 477 days in captivity; reunited with family.
01
Before October 7
Before the attack, Ariev was 19 and serving as an IDF lookout. In a Ynet interview, she described herself as a young soldier whose life was built around friends from home and from the service. They danced, cooked, filmed short videos, and shared the routines of young adults. She called that life good and bright. She also spoke about her closest friend from the base, Aviv Hajaj, describing a deep bond that remained present in her mind after October 7.
02
October 7
At 6:29 a.m. on October 7, 2023, the attack reached Nahal Oz. Ariev and fellow lookouts were in a shelter when armed attackers arrived. In her March 2025 Ynet interview, she recalled that attackers threw grenades inside and restrained the soldiers who survived. Wounded and barefoot, they were taken to Gaza.
03
Captivity
Ariev spent 477 days in Gaza. In her March 2025 interview, she described darkness, cold and harsh treatment by her captors. She spoke about hope and faith as strengths that help people survive difficult experiences. In a January 2026 interview with Galei Tzahal, reported by Israel National News, she and Naama Levy recalled meeting during captivity. Ariev described hiding in a bathroom after hearing someone enter, then recognizing Levy beside a captor. They remembered talking for two or three days without stopping.
04
Return
On January 25, 2025, Ariev was released in the second exchange under the ceasefire arrangement. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs named Ariev among the four female soldiers released after 477 days and reported their reunions with family. A year later, in a Galei Tzahal interview reported by Israel National News, Ariev and Naama Levy recalled the staged handover. Ariev described walking onto the platform with the other women and experiencing the moment as a sign that they had survived.
05
Life since return
In her March 2025 Ynet interview, Ariev said she could not begin recovery while other hostages remained in Gaza and described waiting for their return. She spoke about her mother, sister, and friends who supported the public campaign for her release, and remembered the Nahal Oz soldiers killed on October 7. On January 25, 2026, Ariev and Naama Levy revisited their first moments of freedom in a Galei Tzahal interview reported by Israel National News. That report also recorded their account of the difficult adjustment after the initial euphoria of returning.