October 7 · Personal story
Maya Goren
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
The children’s home, Kibbutz Nir Oz
Current outcome
Returned for burial · July 24, 2024
Maya was killed in the October 7, 2023 attack and taken to Gaza. Her body was returned on July 24, 2024, and she was buried in Nir Oz beside Avner.
01
Life before October 7
Maya was born in Ramat Gan on May 5, 1967. The Nir Oz community described her as drawn to caring for children from a young age: in kindergarten she would comfort classmates who cried for their parents. As a teenager she guided in the Scouts, then served as a Gadna commander. She studied early-childhood education and spent many years as a caregiver and kindergarten teacher in Nir Oz, looking after children, toddlers, and babies. The community said she readily shared her experience and took a sincere interest in people at every age. Maya and Avner met in 1997, married in Nir Oz in March 1998, and raised four children. Their youngest daughter, Dekel, lived with them in their home in recent years.
02
October 7
On October 7, Maya went early to the children’s home where she worked, to prepare it for the following day. Her nephew Amir told The Times of Israel that attackers caught her there. In an interview with Ynet, her son Bar recalled their last conversation: she said attackers had entered the nursery and she was hiding under a bed. About ten minutes later, her phone disconnected. Nir Oz’s memorial account says she was shot, abducted in serious condition and killed. Her four children survived: Asif and Gal were away; Bar and Dekel sheltered in their rooms for eleven hours before soldiers rescued them.
03
After October 7
After the attack, Maya’s family learned she had been taken to Gaza. For the first ten days they also believed Avner had been abducted; they later learned he had been killed. Maya’s children were evacuated to Eilat with surviving Nir Oz residents. In December 2023 her death was confirmed publicly and her body remained in Gaza. Her family continued campaigning for her return and for all the hostages.
04
Return and burial
Israeli forces recovered Maya’s body from Gaza in July 2024. The National Insurance Institute records her return to Israel on July 24. She was buried in Nir Oz beside Avner, in the kibbutz where they had raised their family. In its announcement, the community described her return for burial as an important moment for her children and for Nir Oz.
05
A life with children
Maya’s family remembered her through the last calls and messages from October 7, and through the work that filled her ordinary days. Her children described a mother who stayed in touch as danger reached the children’s home; the community remembered a teacher who shared her experience with anyone who asked. She had cared for Nir Oz’s babies, toddlers, and children for years, and community members said she took a deep interest in the lives of people around her, from infants to adults. Her professional life carried the same attentiveness she had shown as a child comforting classmates.