IDF announces another soldier was killed by terrorists on Oct. 7, body taken into Gaza

Based on findings and new intelligence information, Israel Defense Forces on Sunday announced that soldier Cpt. Daniel Perez, 22, had been murdered by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 and his body abducted into Gaza. 

Perez was a platoon commander in the 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion and was killed in battle with terrorists on the border with Gaza during the Oct. 7 invasion and massacre.

Up until the military’s announcement, Perez had been listed as one of the 253 hostages who had been kidnapped into Gaza on Oct. 7. The new findings allowed his bereaved family to hold a funeral and sit shiva (the seven-day mourning period), even though his body remains in Gaza.

Perez was born in South Africa, but his family moved to Israel when he was 13 years old. His father, Rabbi Doron Perez, is the executive chairman of the religious Zionist organization, the World Mizrachi Movement.

The acting CEO of World Mizrachi, Rabbi Danny Mirvis, who is also the rabbi of the Ohel Moshe Synagogue in Herzliya Pituach, praised the immense strength of the Perez family. 

“Over the past 163 days, we have desperately davened [prayed] for better news. Throughout that time, the Perez family has inspired us and strengthened us as we have sought to strengthen them. The global tefillot [prayers] for his well-being will now become global wishes of comfort.”

Perez’s brother Yonatan was also shot and wounded by Hamas terrorists, close to the Gaza border where he was stationed on Oct. 7. Despite his missing brother and murdered friends, Yonatan decided to go ahead with his wedding, which had been planned months in advance of the tragedy.

“We couldn’t really think about [the wedding] for the first few days, and with Yonatan injured, we didn’t quite know what to do,” his father told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency at the time.

The family decided to proceed with the wedding celebration just five days later.

“It wasn’t a difficult decision, but it was difficult to go through the experience of the decision,” Rabbi Perez said, adding that the wedding celebration itself was “a happy event,” despite the circumstances.

“It just felt holy,” Rabbi Perez explained. “It felt like we’re living in a special time of big things happening … and even though the price has already been so difficult, the overriding feeling was one of happiness, one of just celebration.”

Hamas still holds an estimated 130 hostages in Gaza.

According to the IDF, 33 of those who remain in captivity, including Perez, are no longer alive, while one is still listed as missing since Oct. 7, the day Israelis refer to as the “Black Shabbat.”

In addition to hostages abducted on Oct. 7, Hamas has been holding the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin since 2014. In addition, Israeli civilians, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, both believed to still be living, are also being held captive in Gaza after entering the Gaza Strip voluntarily, in 2014 and 2015 respectively.  

Overall, 592 Israeli soldiers and reservists have been killed since the beginning of the war, with more than 50% murdered during the Oct. 7 invasion and brutal terror attack.