Here Lived
The Engel Family lived here – Ronen, Karina and their two daughters, Mika and Yuval. Their oldest son, Tom, lived in his own apartment on the kibbutz.
Ronen, a water engineer and previously a professional photographer, and Karina, a bookkeeper and cancer survivor who had recently marked one year free of cancer, joined Kibbutz Nir Oz in August 2010 and were among the last people to become members.
October 7th
On October 7, Tom was away in the army and thus spared, while the rest of the family was at home with their two dogs, Muffy and Mancha.
Ronen, a volunteer with Magen David Adom, was at home with his gun, awaiting instructions. When the first group of terrorists broke into the house, a gunfight ensued between them and Ronen, and ultimately, Ronen was kidnapped.
Karina, who was holding onto the safe-room door handle with all her might, lost her grip when a third group of terrorists arrived. Since she was holding a knife, she was able to push them back into the living room, where she was then beaten and kidnapped.
Later on, Mika and Yuval were also kidnapped.
At first, Karina was brought to a storage room and later to a basement in Khan Yunis. Mika and Yuval, who were wounded during the kidnapping, were held for hours in terror tunnels and then transferred to a hospital in Gaza due to the severity of their wounds and Mika’s resourcefulness in heroically protecting her little sister.
For 23 days, Karina didn’t know that her daughters had been kidnapped. The terrorists told her that her daughters were in Tel Aviv and that no children had been kidnapped. It was only when she met David and Sharon Cunio, who were kidnapped with their twin daughters, that Karina understood that her daughters were in the hands of Gazans and she was able to reunite with them.
What Happened Since
On November 27, after 52 days in captivity, Karina, Mika, and Yuval were released as part of a hostage deal. Upon their return, they learned that Ronen had been killed in battle and that his body was being held in Gaza. Their dog Mancha had also been killed. Muffy had been wounded, but survived thanks to IDF soldiers who had arrived on the kibbutz.
Karina and her children moved to Karme Gat, along with the Nir Oz community, and continued their struggle for the return of Ronen and the rest of the hostages.
After two years, the struggle came to an end, and Ronen was laid to rest and buried in the soil of Nir Oz.
