Elad was born on April 17, 1976, in Kibbutz Nir Oz, the middle son of Rami and Hanna Katzir and the brother of Avital and Carmit. He had an enormous heart, with room for everyone. He was a devoted son to his parents.
After serving in the Combat Engineering Corps and taking an extended trip around the world, he chose to return and build his home in the kibbutz, alongside his parents. Elad was a close brother to his sisters and a funny, beloved and devoted uncle who poured his heart into his six nieces and nephews.
Elad had another great love: the fields, his irrigation work and the field crops. He knew every plot of land like the back of his hand and was moved each year anew by what grew there. Elad loved life in the kibbutz and filled many roles there: he served on the secretariat, the local emergency team and the firefighting team.
Elad played an active role in cultural events and emceed the traditional Shavuot soccer tournament. He was a friend to adults and children alike and had sent every child in Nir Oz at least once “to go pee-pee and to sleep.”
Elad’s eternal love was the Maccabi Haifa football club. He traveled to the team’s matches in Israel and around the world, showing the devotion that defined him.
Elad joined the struggle to bring the boys home from the very beginning and stood alongside the Goldin family in the fight to bring back Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, and later Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed. On October 6, 2023, he participated in Misdar Hadar, the vigil for Hadar Goldin’s return, and on October 7, 2023, he was abducted.
For 44 days, he was considered missing until it became clear he was alive. Elad was murdered by his captors after surviving 99 days in captivity. He could have been saved if an agreement had been signed in time.
In April 2024, Elad’s body was returned to Israel. The news of his murder while in captivity stunned his family, the residents of Nir Oz, and the public at large, fueling outrage over the leadership’s abandonment and callousness.
Elad was laid to rest in the soil of Nir Oz, which he loved so dearly, beside his beloved parents. His father, Rami, was murdered on October 7, and his mother, Hanna, died about a year after returning from Gaza due to the repercussions of her captivity.
The following words were inscribed on his gravestone: “Devoted son, loving brother, adored uncle, dear friend, a ray of light in the world. A funny man with a heart of gold, loving and loved, a farmer. His life was cruelly cut short on October 7, 2023. May your memory be laughter, embrace and joy, fields and earth.”
He was 47 years old at the time of his death.
May Elad’s memory be a blessing.
