Footage Reveals Abducted Troops Before Oct. 7 Attack

A Glimpse of Joy: Families Reconnect with Lost Soldiers Through Rare Footage

The families of three Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers who were attacked and taken hostage from a tank stationed on the Gaza border on October 7, 2023, have received previously unseen footage of their loved ones. This video was recorded just days before the tragic event, offering a rare and heartwarming glimpse into the lives of those who are now missing.

Sergeant Nimrod Cohen, Sergeant Oz Daniel, and Captain Omer Neutra were part of a tank crew stationed at the so-called “White House” IDF post between Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Nirim on the morning of October 7. Alongside them was their fourth crew member, Sergeant Shaked Dahan. Their tank was attacked by Hamas terrorists using RPG fire and explosive devices. Dahan, Daniel, and Neutra were all killed in the attack, and their bodies were taken to Gaza, where they remain held. Cohen was abducted alive, and a returning hostage shared with his family in February that he had seen him in Gaza eight months prior, though in poor physical and mental condition.

The infamous footage from the attack showed Palestinians in civilian clothing standing around their burning tank, with the soldiers being dragged out by Hamas terrorists. However, the families have now been given a different kind of memory—one filled with joy and normalcy. The video was recorded outside the soldiers’ post just days before October 7 by Tsipora Halfon, the volunteer chair of the Association for the Welfare of Israeli Soldiers (AWIS). She had visited the base to distribute food, and in the footage, a group of soldiers can be seen mingling with each other and interacting with her as she encouraged them to choose drinks from a cooler and pick snacks from the trunk of her car.

Loud music plays in the background, and the atmosphere appears relaxed, with some soldiers wearing sports clothes instead of uniforms. Neutra is seen toward the beginning of the video, hanging back slightly along with Cohen and Daniel until Halfon notices them and encourages them to stop “being shy” and take snacks. At a later point, the camera pans to Cohen, who is holding two packets of chips and doesn’t seem to realize he’s being filmed. Halfon then turns to Daniel, who is standing behind her with several snacks and a large bottle of soda balanced in his arms, and asks if she can take a photograph with “this handsome man,” who obligingly leans in, grinning widely.

“Look after yourself!” Halfon calls to him as she walks away. Photos from that day were posted on Halfon’s Facebook page in April 2024 to mark the first Passover holiday since the October 7 attack, which coincided with the Jewish holiday of Simhat Torah. At the time, Neutra was still believed to be alive, and the IDF would only confirm his death eight months later.

Passover, she wrote, “symbolizes blossoming and renewal, spring and growth. There is no air and no atmosphere. There is no spring, and no blossoming and no growth.” The footage went unnoticed for more than a year until Daniel’s father, Amir, stumbled across a photo of Halfon with his son. He contacted the AWIS chair, who then sent him all the footage she had from that day, including the video, and it was shared with the families of the other soldiers.

“It’s very, very moving, especially the videos, and Oz, like Oz, stood out,” he told Channel 12. “He was modest and shy, he didn’t feel comfortable taking things from Tsipora’s car,” he said. “He stood behind her with a shy half-smile… it was like seeing him really alive.”

“It brought me to tears,” his mother, Merav, told the Kan public broadcaster, saying new footage of Oz “has become something empowering and moving.” Cohen’s mother, Viki, told Kan: “I’m moved to tears to see Nimrod. I miss him so much.”

This rare footage has provided a bittersweet reminder of the lives lost and the moments of joy that once existed before the tragedy. For the families, it offers a chance to remember their loved ones not just as victims of war, but as individuals full of life, laughter, and warmth.