October 7 · Personal story
Mika Engel
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Kibbutz Nir Oz
Current outcome
Released alive · November 27, 2023
Released with her family after 52 days in captivity.
01
Before October 7
Mika Engel was 18 and lived in Kibbutz Nir Oz with her parents, Karina and Ronen, and her younger sister, Yuval. Her older brother Tom had a separate home in the kibbutz. She finished school with distinction, deferred military enlistment and began a year of voluntary service working with children with special needs.
02
Abduction
On October 7, the family was at home in Nir Oz with its two dogs. Ronen stayed outside the safe room to protect his family. Karina was taken first, while Mika and Yuval remained inside. About half an hour later, the sisters were found and abducted. In an April 2025 interview, Karina said the car carrying her daughters crashed shortly after they were taken, leaving both with foot injuries.
03
Captivity
Karina described how Mika saw Yuval losing blood and insisted that their captors take them to a hospital. The sisters had been held in tunnels for about six hours before being taken to a hospital in Khan Younis. They were separated from their mother for the first weeks of captivity. Karina said she was brought to the hospital on October 29 and reunited with them the following day. There, Mika and Yuval remained with their mother and other hostages until release.
04
Return
Mika, Karina and Yuval were released on November 27, 2023, after 52 days in captivity. At Kerem Shalom, an army doctor examined the sisters and said they needed urgent hospital care. Mika borrowed a soldier’s phone and called Tom to say they were with Israeli forces. At Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv, they reunited with him and their relatives. Karina recalled that the first thing they asked for was a bath.
05
Afterward
The sisters spent about two months in hospital with Karina, then moved with the Nir Oz community to Karmei Gat. In April 2025, Karina said Mika had not yet resumed her previous activities and hoped she would begin studying the following year. On December 1, 2023, the family had been officially told that Ronen was killed on October 7 and his body was held in Gaza. His remains were returned on October 18, 2025, and identified the next day. After identification, Mika wrote that her father was finally home and expressed solidarity with families still awaiting their loved ones.