October 7 · Personal story
Ofir Tzarfati
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Nova music festival near Re’im
Current outcome
Returned for burial · December 1, 2023
Ofir’s family was notified of his death on November 29, 2023. His body was recovered in Gaza and brought to Israel for burial on December 1. Additional partial remains were returned in March 2024 and October 27, 2025; his family held a third burial ceremony on October 30, 2025.
01
Life before
Ofir was born and raised in Kiryat Ata and studied electrical engineering. His sister Shoval remembered him as outspoken at school, willing to speak up for others. He served in the Navy, then worked with Shoval at a restaurant; she recalled firing him seven times because he was so attentive to customers. He supported Maccabi Haifa and regularly went to matches.
02
Abduction
Ofir went to Nova with his partner, Shoval Gal, and friends to celebrate his 27th birthday. When rockets began, the group ran and hid. Accounts from his family and people who escaped with him say he made sure Shoval got into a car, then tried to leave in another vehicle with others. He was shot, badly wounded, and taken to Gaza.
03
Captivity
His family learned in late November 2023 that Ofir had not survived. His sister described the family’s hope that people released from Gaza might be able to tell them how he was doing. In January 2025, his mother said he and Romi Gonen had both been taken to a hospital in Gaza after being abducted wounded.
04
Return
On December 1, 2023, the IDF and Shin Bet said Ofir’s body had been recovered in Gaza and brought to Israel for burial. The IDF had declared his death confirmed on November 27; the family was notified on November 29 after identification. Additional partial remains returned in March 2024 and October 2025.
05
Aftermath
Ofir’s sister Shoval later said their relationship had been exceptionally close and that he cared deeply about the people around him. His mother, Rachel, remembered him celebrating his birthday with friends and his partner. When further remains came home, his parents and sister returned to his grave to say goodbye again; his father said Ofir had chosen to help save lives.