Hanna Katzir, 77 freed; son Elad still captive in Gaza
Husband Rami Katzir was killed by Hamas terrorists in their Kibbutz Nir Oz home on October 7

Hanna Katzir was released on November 24 as part of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad announced Katzir’s death, allegedly in an IDF attack, days before her release. This is the story of her capture and that of her son, still in Gaza:
On Saturday morning, October 7, Avraham ‘Rami’ and Hanna Katzir were in their Kibbutz Nir Oz home when Hamas terrorists attacked the community.
Hanna, 77, spoke on the phone with her daughter, Carmit, several times that morning, telling her that Rami had locked the house and they were in the sealed room. Hanna didn’t answer the phone again after 8:44 a.m.
Hours later, the family learned that their father, Rami, was murdered in the sealed room and Hanna was missing.
Their son and main caretaker, Elad Katzir, also lives in Nir Oz. During his last conversation with his sister, Carmit, he managed to tell her that terrorists had entered his home.
There has been no other information about Elad’s whereabouts or condition.
The family is very concerned about Hanna, a former kibbutz nanny who uses a walker, takes medications and requires constant medical attention.
Hanna was born to a family of Holocaust survivors and while not in perfect health, has continued to work in the kibbutz laundromat, out of concern for soldiers serving on the kibbutz.
Elad is a farmer and social activist who volunteers for the Hadar Formation, showing up each week to support the fight for the release of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, two soldiers whose bodies are held in Gaza.
Elad is known by his friends and family as a man of the soil, who during tense security times and attacks from Gaza, would insist on working the kibbutz lands closest to the border with Gaza.
His friends quoted him in social media posts, “This is our land, and this is the food we grow.”
In January 2009, Elad was interviewed by The New York Times, following an Israeli offensive in Gaza, and said he was nervous about sniper fire from the other side of the border.
“I do not feel any victory,” he told The New York Times. “I still do not feel safe.”