Staff Sgt. Oz Daniel, 19: Talented guitarist was ‘a boy of integrity’

Staff Sgt. Oz Daniel, 19, of the 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion, from Kfar Saba, was killed on October 7 while battling the Hamas invasion of southern Israel, and his body taken captive to Gaza.

Oz was stationed that morning with his comrades at the so-called “White House” IDF post between Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Nirim. When the Hamas attack began, he set out in their tank with his commander, Cpt. Omer Neutra, along with Sgt. Shaked Dahan and Sgt. Nimrod Cohen.

Their tank was attacked by Hamas terrorists with RPG fire and explosive devices. Oz – the loader of the tank – Omer and Shaked were killed in the attack, and their bodies were taken to Gaza, while Nimrod was abducted alive to the Strip.

Oz’s family said that after Hamas attacked the tank, Oz tried to grab a grenade from one of the gunmen and was shot and killed.

Shaked’s remains were recovered by IDF troops in August 2024. Nimrod was freed from two years of Hamas captivity in October 2025.

Oz’s family did not know his fate for several months, until in February 2024 the IDF declared his death, based on new findings.

His family decided to hold a funeral for him in Kfar Saba on February 26, 2024 – burying a blood-soaked uniform and stretcher – and to sit shiva, the seven-day mourning period. He is survived by his parents, Merav and Amir, and his twin sister, Hadar.

On November 2, 2025, Oz’s remains were returned to Israel from Gaza by Hamas, along with those of Omer and Col. Asaf Hamami. He was laid to rest in Kfar Saba on November 6.

Oz was born in Beersheba, where he lived with his family until moving in the 3rd grade to Kfar Saba, where he attended local schools.

His family said Oz loved playing Xbox, enjoyed superhero movies and the Marvel universe and liked to draw. In the 3rd grade, he began learning guitar, and music became a significant part of his life, his loved ones said.

Oz dreamed of a music career, devoting himself to playing and practicing and focusing his high school studies on music while being part of a number of bands. He loved to listen to and play a wide range of music, but in particular that of Guns N’ Roses.

After completing high school, he enlisted in the IDF in August 2022 and joined the Armored Corps, where he trained as a tank loader. He had been slated to begin a tank commander’s course shortly after he was killed.

“Oz is a boy who is all one big heart,” his mother, Merav, told the Haaretz newspaper. “A boy of integrity, who loves people, who always sees the glass half full and treats every person with respect.”

Merav said that she learned during the shiva from his teacher that Oz always checked up on his fellow classmates, in particular those who struggled: “He had a lot of friends on the autistic spectrum,” she said. “Kids who didn’t have friends, who felt invisible, but Oz saw them.”

Music, she said, was the biggest part of his life: “He would play for hours and hours, sometimes until his fingers bled, and he wouldn’t stop until he felt that the bit he was working on was perfect,” she said. “He played all the genres, but his favorite was rock.”

She said he was dedicated to his army service and to defending the country, and was motivated to succeed in the IDF.

“I am sure that Oz believed with all his heart in this covenant, in which he puts his life on the line and is prepared to sacrifice himself,” she said, “and in return, the country is duty-bound to bring him back to his final and dignified resting place here with us.”

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