Son of Osnat and Shai, brother of Roni and Maya, Nadav grew up in Moshav Beit Hanan. He attended Gan Raveh Elementary School and Brenner High School, where he majored in philosophy and physics. He started out as an MDA volunteer and went on to become an instructor. Nadavi organized blood drives at his school until he was drafted into the army.
Nadavi began his service in the Egoz unit and went on to serve in Golani's 51st Battalion as commander of the battalion commander's forward command post.
On October 7, Golani's 51st Battalion was responsible for the Southern Brigade sector in Gaza and was stationed at Kissufim.
Nadav fought in the battles of October 7, in the ground operation in Gaza and in the ground operation in Lebanon.
He was wounded twice during his service but refused to leave the fighting.
When the ceasefire was announced in January 2025, the battalion took part in the release of the hostage Agam Berger. Nadav was the one who received her on the Israeli side, which moved him deeply.
Nadav was killed in Gaza on February 6, 2025. He was 21 years old.
Nadav wrote the following text on one of the Sabbaths he spent in Gaza:
"Today is day 19 of the ground operation. On a normal Shabbat I would wake up and drink coffee, bummed or happy about the weekend I'd had. To me, Shabbat is a calm day – a day when you rest physically, but more importantly, mentally. A day for family and friends, for trips and parties – really, a day to be a 20-year-old kid and enjoy all the good the world has to offer without thinking about tomorrow.
Every now and then I think about people my age around the world. Right now they're in college partying and posting TikTok videos. And I'm here in Gaza with a helmet on my head and a weapon, carrying the burden of the country's security together with a very small group of people who chose the common good over their own. And I also think that they will never know what it's like to see a friend killed in front of you. What it's like to fight for your life. What it's like when your problems are how many enemies you'll face today, and not how your hair looks this morning. Do I envy them? Yes. Would I trade places with them? Never. Because they will never hug their mom and feel like the luckiest person in the world, eat a hot meal and need nothing more. They will never find a new family in their lives – brothers in arms. In short, they will never get to know what happiness is. From a young age we're told that the more successful we are in life, the richer we'll be, and the happier we'll become. At my young age, I know that isn't true. Happiness is about perspective. Only a person who has had everything taken from him – hot food, a place to sleep, the people he loves, certainty – can truly appreciate his mom's cooking, the bed in his room, time with the woman he loves, or a moment of quiet when the day's troubles disappear for a while. So thank you to the 51st Battalion, which became my home, and to the dear people, some of whom are no longer with us, who taught me that you can find another family in life."
Nadav Cohen, Zeitoun, November 17, 2023
