Here Lived
This was the home of Nili Margalit. Nili was born in the kibbutz and was scheduled to be accepted as a kibbutz member in November 2023 and purchase a home in Nir Oz. She worked as a pediatric emergency-room nurse at Soroka Hospital and as a clinical instructor in the Department of Nursing at Ben-Gurion University. Nili lived in this house with Netchi, her beloved dog, alongside her close friends. Usually, in the afternoons, she would meet with her neighbors, who were also close friends, along with their two-legged and four-legged children. She loved her routine and life in the neighborhood and on the kibbutz. Nili is the daughter of Churchill z”l and Dafna Margalit, who lived in a different neighborhood on the kibbutz.
October 7th
On October 7, 2023, Nili woke up to the sound of sirens and entered the safe room with Netchi. She locked the house after hearing that terrorists had infiltrated the kibbutz. At around 9:00 a.m., terrorists broke into her home. When they entered the safe room, they saw her covered in a blanket with Netchi. At first, they ransacked the house and looted it, and later, when two more armed terrorists arrived, they took her by force and under threats to Gaza. Nili didn’t see her house being burned to the ground, and didn’t know what had happened to her family and friends.
For 55 days, Nili was held in captivity in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza, with elderly people from Nir Oz and Nirim. They were held under harsh physical conditions and suffered from complex medical situations. She functioned as a nurse in every sense of the word and helped her fellow kibbutz members survive. After 55 days, she was released in the first hostage deal. Seven people of the group she was held with were murdered in captivity: Alex Dancyg, Haim Peri, Yoram Metzger, Avraham Munder, Amiram Cooper, Nadav Popplewell, and Yagev Buchshtab.
What Happened Since
After her release from captivity, Nili discovered that her father had been murdered on October 7, 2023, and that his body was being held in Gaza. Nili currently lives in Karme Gat with Netchi. She actively and determinedly campaigned to bring home the hostages until her father was brought home for burial and until the end of the struggle after more than two years.
