October 7 · Personal story
Ophelia Roitman
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
Her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel.
Current outcome
Released alive · November 28, 2023
Released alive after 53 days in captivity.
01
Life before October 7
Ophelia Roitman was born in Argentina and built her life in Kibbutz Nir Oz. A veteran educator, she was 77 when she was taken from her home. She is a mother of three and grandmother of nine. Her family was central to her life: on October 7 she was alone in the house because her husband was recovering from surgery. Her nephew, sports broadcaster Hernán Feler, later became a public advocate for her release, bringing her story to audiences in Argentina.
02
Taken from Nir Oz
On the morning of October 7, Ophelia had entered the safe room after rocket sirens. Armed attackers entered her home. Bullets struck the safe-room door and one wounded her arm. A captor tied her arm with a shoelace, then she was taken face down on a tractor toward Gaza. Her last phone message to her daughter Natalie, sent at 9:37 a.m., said that they were there and pleaded for help. Her family learned days later that she was being held in Gaza.
03
Days in captivity
Ophelia spent 53 days in captivity, including 46 days alone in an apartment with almost no food and little light. She saved small pieces of pita from meager rations and walked in circles to keep herself occupied. A doctor periodically treated her injured arm, and she said she could not tell night from day. When she found a notebook and pen, she obtained permission to write and kept a diary in Spanish. Later she was moved to a hospital, where she met two neighbors from Nir Oz who had also been abducted.
04
Return home
Ophelia was released alive on November 28, 2023, after 53 days. On her return she was reunited with her family; she later thanked her nephew for the public campaign and expressed gratitude to people in Argentina who had learned her name. The release ended her captivity, though the public testimony she gave soon afterward made clear that the experience had left her shaken and emotional.
05
Life after return
After her release, Ophelia reunited with her family at an apartment in an Israeli retirement center. Her arm was still bandaged. Her nephew Hernán had become a public advocate for her while she was held, beginning football matches with reminders of his aunt and the other captives. Ophelia’s return brought her back from weeks of separation to her children and grandchildren; the family who had waited for news could be together again.