October 7 · Personal story
Ron Scherman
Abducted
October 7, 2023
Abduction location
The COGAT base beside the Erez Crossing.
Current outcome
Returned for burial · December 14, 2023
The IDF recovered Ron’s body from a tunnel in northern Gaza. Its September 2024 inquiry assessed a high probability that the November 10 airstrike caused his death as a byproduct, but said the circumstances could not be established definitively.
01
Life before
Ron was born in Petah Tikva and grew up in Lehavim, where his parents Maayan and Alexander worked as veterinarians. He attended the Eshel HaNasi youth village and grew up among dogs and cats, including the family’s pit bull, Tyson. His family remembered a devoted soccer fan who loved travel, competition and being with friends. Ron enlisted in December 2022. Asthma meant he could not serve in a full combat role, so he worked in coordination at the COGAT base beside Erez. His father described a sensitive, ambitious young man whose smile and charisma made people gravitate toward him.
02
October 7
Ron served in coordination at the COGAT base next to Erez. His mother later recalled WhatsApp messages beginning at 6:30 a.m., shortly after a shift change. Ron ran to the shelter in a tank top and flip-flops as rockets struck. He wrote that he heard Arabic and asked whether he should leave or stay; his mother tried to reassure him. At 7:12 a.m. he sent a final message: the attackers had arrived, it was over, and he loved her. The family later saw footage of Ron bound in a pickup truck. Reports identified him as taken alive with fellow soldiers Nik Beizer and Tamir Nimrodi. His brother Dan later recalled how the family held onto that last message while they waited for news.
03
Captivity
On September 15, 2024, the IDF presented its inquiry to the families of Ron, Nik and Elia Toledano. It said the three had been held in the tunnel complex where Hamas commander Ahmed Ghandour operated. The investigation assessed with high probability that the November 10, 2023 airstrike on Ghandour caused their deaths as a byproduct. It also said the available evidence could not establish the precise circumstances definitively. His family had told reporters he had asthma and needed an inhaler.
04
Return
On December 14, 2023, IDF troops recovered Ron’s body from a tunnel in northern Gaza. His family received confirmation after identification. He was buried the next day, December 15, in Lehavim. At the funeral, the people who knew Ron brought the story back to a son and brother: his parents’ veterinary home, the animals around him, his siblings and friends, and the final message that ended with love for his mother.
05
Family and remembrance
Ron was the oldest child of Maayan and Alexander; Dan and Eden were his younger siblings. His father’s eulogy remembered a sensitive, ambitious son with a captivating smile. Dan described a small return to childhood: just days before the abduction, the brothers had bought a new PlayStation and started playing together again. Ron’s parents, both veterinarians, had built a home filled with animals and family life. These details sit beside the WhatsApp message from the base, preserving the ordinary relationships and pleasures that made his life specific to the people who loved him.