Chana Katzir, released hostage who survived Hamas captivity, passes away in Israel

Yerushalayim, Israel – Chana Katzir, one of the Israeli hostages released from Gaza in November, 2023, on the first day of a seven-day ceasefire, has tragically passed away at the age of 78–following an illness when she was released from Gaza with severe heart problems she didn’t have previously.

Chana developed heart issues, because she was kidnapped to Gaza by Hamas and PIJ terrorists without her medications and the starvation she suffered.

“My mother’s condition is serious. Her condition has deteriorated following the captivity. She had no heart problems when she was kidnapped, but now she has severe heart problems due to harsh conditions and starvation,” her daughter Carmit Palty-Katzir told Army Radio following her release.

Chana was kidnapped from her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Simchas Torah, her husband Avraham (Rami) Katzir HY”D was murdered in the kibbutz and their son, Elad Katzir HY”D, was kidnapped and later murdered by terrorists in Gaza.

IDF commando soldiers rescued the body of Elad Katzir, 47, who was taken hostage by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Simchas Torah. The operation to rescue his body was carried out based on intelligence received about the burial location in Khan Yunis (near Gush Katif) in Gaza.

Carmit Palty-Katzir, Chana’s daughter: “Mom was a woman, wife, and devoted mother who was all about love. Her heart could not withstand the terrible suffering since October 7th.”

The Levaya will be held today at 4:00 PM at the Nir Oz Kibbutz cemetery.