Here Lived
In this home Ohad and Bat-Sheva Yahalomi lived with their three children – Eitan (12), Yael (10), and their baby daughter (20 months old).
Ohad loved nature to his very soul. He worked for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority for 17 years, during which he held various roles in nature conservation, most recently serving as the the Green Patrol’s Southern District Manager. Among other things, he co-authored a field guide on scorpions and took part in educational initiatives within the Bedouin community.
October 7th
When the sirens began, the family entered the safe room, but discovered that the door would not close due to a problem with the handle. Ohad decided to get out of the room and slam the door shut from the outside, in order to protect Bat-Sheva and the children. Terrorists stormed the Yahalomi family home at around 10:00 a.m. After a fierce struggle, they wounded Ohad and broke open the safe room door. They forced Bat-Sheva and the children out of the house in front of Ohad, who was lying outside the safe room, wounded and bleeding. Bat-Sheva and ten-year-old Yael were put on one motorcycle, while Eitan and the baby were placed on another.
Ohad, wounded, was left behind.
Before the terrorists began driving, the baby started crying and was transferred into Bat-Sheva’s arms. Barefoot and in their pajamas, Bat-Sheva and the children were driven through the kibbutz amid chaos, destruction, and devastation, as the motorcycles made their way between hundreds of terrorists on their way back toward Gaza.
As they approached the Gaza border, IDF tanks and a helicopter appeared. In the chaos that followed, the motorcycle carrying Bat-Sheva and the girls crashed. The motorcycle carrying Eitan continued into Gaza.
One of the terrorists led Bat-Sheva and the girls, at gunpoint, to a container by the side of the road. Bat-Sheva repeatedly asked where her son was. After she realized the terrorist had no intention of bringing him back, she heard a tank passing close by and seized the moment to flee with her two daughters, running into the fields to find a hiding place.
The hours of escape were difficult. Among bushes and bare land, they tried to avoid drawing attention and were forced to hide from time to time out of fear of the many terrorists who were close, and out of fear of being hit by the missiles that whistled over their heads constantly. When they became exhausted, they lay on the ground and pretended to be dead. During their escape, they once again encountered terrorists, who tried to persuade them to come with them to Gaza. Bat-Sheva told them they had already taken one of her children, and they continued to flee.
They finally reached the northern perimeter of the kibbutz, and came across a bus dropping off soldiers heading into battle. The bus evacuated them north.
The second motorcycle, carrying Eitan, continued into Gaza. They later discovered that Ohad had been abducted separately.
What Happened Since
After 52 days in captivity, Eitan was released as part of the first deal, after spending 16 days completely alone and enduring ongoing psychological terror by his captors. After those 16 days, he was placed with a group of hostages from Nir Oz.
Despite prayers and hopes that he would return alive, Ohad was returned, fallen, on February 27, 2025, and laid to rest in the soil of Nir Oz – the Negev land he loved so deeply. Only after his return, the family learned that he was murdered in captivity about two months after he was captured. He left us heartbroken in the face of the evil that befell us, but with hope to persevere and bring light to the world, according to Ohad way of thinking.
Today, the family lives in Kibbutz HaOgen, but their hearts remain with those who have not yet returned home.
