October 7 · Personal story
Kiril Brodski
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Kibbutz Nirim
Current outcome
Returned for burial · July 24, 2024
His body was recovered in Gaza and returned to Israel for burial on July 24, 2024.
01
Life before
Kiril was born in Ramat Gan on August 4, 2004, the younger child of Elena and Victor and younger brother of Alina. He grew up in Ramat Gan and studied in nearby Givatayim, at Ben-Gurion elementary school and Shimon Ben Zvi High School, where he completed the sports track. Friends described a quiet, modest young man who took time to open up in a new group, then became a loyal friend. He had a lively sense of humor, liked adventures and took an interest in many subjects. He was drawn to building and fixing things: from childhood he played with Lego and later assembled a computer from parts he bought. He also loved motorcycles, traveled around Israel on them and eventually brought his father into the hobby.
02
Service and October 7
Kiril enlisted on March 23, 2023, and began training with the Paratroopers Brigade. A serious leg injury during the early selection period worsened after basic training, so he had to leave the unit. He stayed in service and was recommended for a driver position in the Southern Brigade. The deputy brigade commander said Kiril completed driver training faster and more successfully than anyone in the division’s history; he was assigned to the brigade commander’s command post. On October 7, Kiril was at the Re’im base. He drove with commander Col. Asaf Hamami and signaler Tomer Yaakov Ahimas to Nirim. At 6:50 a.m. they entered the kibbutz as the first military force there and fought dozens of attackers.
03
His body held in Gaza
During the fight, Hamami was wounded. Kiril and Tomer carried him under fire to a nearby shelter, applied a tourniquet and called for help over the radio; both were then hit. Kiril, Hamami and Tomer were killed in Nirim, and their bodies were taken to Gaza. For more than six weeks, Kiril’s family did not know that he had died and held hope for his return. On November 28, 2023, the IDF confirmed his death and described his status as that of a fallen soldier whose body was held by a terrorist organization.
04
Return
Israeli forces recovered Kiril’s body in Khan Yunis on July 24, 2024, and returned it to Israel. He was buried at Kiryat Shaul military cemetery in Tel Aviv. His family could finally lay him to rest after his body had been held in Gaza for more than nine months.
05
Aftermath
At the funeral, Kiril’s mother Elena said that he set goals and reached them through his own effort, worked hard and was always ready to help. His family remembered a son and brother whose laughter and warmth filled their home. Miri Samorov, his partner, began motorcycle lessons hoping to surprise Kiril and ride beside him when he came home; after his death, she said she would finish the lessons in his memory. His friends honored him by arriving at his funeral on motorcycles. In Ramat Gan, a section of the street where his family lives was renamed Kiril Street. His parents and sister remain part of the story he left behind.