Elad Katzir, 47: Kibbutz farmer was the ultimate ‘cool uncle’
Kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7 and murdered in captivity, his body retrieved in April 2024
Elad Katzir, 47, from Kibbutz Nir Oz, was kidnapped on October 7 and murdered in captivity in Gaza.
His body was retrieved by the IDF during an operation on April 5, 2024.
The IDF said that according to its intelligence, Elad was “murdered in captivity by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.” The IDF estimated that he was killed by his captors in mid-January. He was then buried in the Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza, and his body was exhumed and brought back to Israel for burial by troops of the Maglan and Egoz commando units.
Elad was in his home the day of the Hamas invasion, and told his sister that terrorists had entered his home during their last conversation. While in captivity, Islamic Jihad released two forced propaganda videos of Elad, in December 2023 and January 2024.
Elad’s father, Rami Katzir, was murdered on October 7 in Nir Oz and his mother, Hanna Katzir, was kidnapped and released as part of a truce deal in late November.
He was buried in Kibbutz Nir Oz on April 7. He is survived by his mother, Hanna, and his sisters, Avital and Carmit.
A farmer, a social activist and a devoted fan of the Maccabi Haifa soccer team, Elad volunteered for the Hadar Foundation, showing up each week to support the fight for the release of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, two soldiers whose bodies have been held in Gaza for more than 10 years.
“Elad was a man of laughter, hugs and happiness, fields and land,” the kibbutz said in a statement announcing his death. “He was especially loved by the kibbutz’s children, members and residents.”
His niece, Shaked, wrote on Facebook to “the uncle that everyone would want to have: the cool uncle who let you have alcohol at 13, who flew with you for your first time abroad, who let you drive way before you got your license. Who took you to a pub, to a restaurant, a movie, for a drive on the tractor in a field. Who taught you to swim, and who also almost drowned in the pool.”
And despite all that, she said, “you were an educational figure. You taught us how to lighten the mood and at the same time to look at things seriously, you taught us the values of loving the land, people, the earth, values of partnership, of shared responsibility, of helping others. A man whose values were his actions and his work.”
Her uncle, Shaked wrote, “was freedom. You were an 18-year-old kid in the body of a 40 year old. You always followed your heart and didn’t do what was expected of you. You had a heart of gold. You were one of those people for whom the good inside them is a way of life.”
Elad’s sister, Carmit, described him on Facebook as “our Elad. A devoted son, a loving brother, the coolest and most dedicated uncle there was. A friend to so many people.”
“Eladi, may the memory of you be of laughter, hugs and joy, fields and soil,” she wrote. “That is not how your story ought to have ended. Please forgive us for failing to save you.”
