Those we are missing

Taken captive: Ariel Cunio told brother ‘We are in a horror film’

Ariel, the youngest of four Cunio brothers, was taken captive from his Kibbutz Nir Oz home with his girlfriend, Arbel Yehud, on October 7

By ToI Staff 13 November 2023, 11:07 pm Edit

Ariel Cunio, taken captive from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, 2023 by Hamas terrorists (Courtesy)

Ariel Cunio is one of four Cunio brothers who was born and raised at Kibbutz Nir Oz. He lives there with his girlfriend, Arbel Yehud, another Nir Oz native and both were taken captive by Hamas terrorists on October 7.

The kibbutz is where his grandmother, parents, three siblings and their families all live.

Cunio’s brother David, his wife Sharon and their three-year-old twins, along with Sharon’s sister Danielle and her five-year-old, were also kidnapped.

Cunio, his girlfriend and her brother, Dolev, a married father of four, were all taken captive together.

There’s little that’s known of what happened there that morning, except for the message that Ariel sent to his brother, Eitan, which read: “We are in a horror film.”

Ariel and Arbel had just returned to Nir Oz from an extended trip to South America and Central America and had adopted a puppy weeks earlier.