Here Lived
This was the home of Yair Yaakov, father of Sheer, Or, and Yagil Yaakov, and ex-husband of Renana Gome Yaakov. On that horrific Saturday, Yaya was joined in his home by his partner, Merav Tal.
Yair moved to the kibbutz following his marriage to Renana, a kibbutz native. He was a member of Nir Oz for 27 years. Yair was a graduate of the Mikveh Israel Agricultural School and an alumnus of the Gar’in Nahal which settled in the neighboring Kibbutz Magen, where he was a member for several years before moving to Nir Oz. Throughout his life, he worked in agriculture and was connected with every fiber of his being to the land and to the Negev.
October 7th
On the morning of that horrific Saturday, Yair and his partner, Merav Tal, were inside the house. They entered the safe room as soon as the sirens began. Hearing cries for help from outside the house, Yair went out to assist. When he realized the scale of the unfolding attack outside, and since he was unarmed, he ran back indoors, but the terrorists spotted him and chased him.
Yair managed to hold the safe room door shut, even after the terrorists fired at it, sustaining a severe injury to a main artery in his leg. Determined to break in, the terrorists detonated an explosive device to force the safe room door open. The blast blew the door open, and Merav and Yair pretended to be dead. Nevertheless, the terrorists forced them out of the safe room. At this point, Yair was still standing on his feet, as seen in a video filmed by the terrorists and sent to Merav’s daughter, Tomer, two days after the terrible Saturday.
Merav and Yair were separated outside their home. Merav was taken and held in captivity for 53 days by Islamic Jihad terrorists, alongside Ada Sagi, another Nir Oz member abducted from her home. Yair z”l was murdered outside his home, apparently while attempting to escape.
What Happened Since
Yair’s children survived. Yagil and Or were abducted from the home of their mother, and returned from captivity after 52 days. Their older sister, Sheer, miraculously survived, as terrorists tried to break into the safe room in her apartment six times, yet failed.
Yair’s body was held hostage by Hamas for 614 days. He was returned in a military rescue operation, alongside Aviv Atzili z”l. Yair was brought to eternal rest in Nir Oz on June 20, 2025. He was 59 years old when he was murdered.
May his memory be a blessing.
