Here Lived
The Vahaba family lived in this home: father Yishai, mother Amit Siman Tov, and their four children: Gaya (10.5), Noam (9), Neta (6), and Shilo (2.6).
Amit was born and raised in Nir Oz, the sister of Ranae, Koren, and Johnny. Koren and Johnny also lived on the kibbutz, as did Amit’s mother, Carol Siman Tov.
The “Siman Tov clan” living in Nir Oz was a large, close, warm, and joyful family. Grandma Carol was a proud, active grandmother to eleven happy grandchildren.
Joy, freedom, nature, and kibbutz life were woven into the fabric of this family.
Family gatherings, picnics, laughter, friends, and endless love filled their lives.
October 7th
On October 7, the entire Vahaba family rushed into their safe room. Terrorists entered the home three times, banging on the door, shouting, and trying to force them out. Eventually, they fired at the safe room door, and when that failed, they set the house on fire. The fear, the terror, the certainty that death was near, the shouts, the relentless gunfire, and the smoke filling the safe room were beyond comprehension.
The family said their goodbyes to one another, to siblings and friends, and in the end survived and were rescued from the safe room after approximately ten hours.
What Happened Since
When they came out, they were told that Johnny and his entire family had been murdered in their home, and that Amit’s mother had also been murdered in her safe room, together with her dog.
We survived in body, but our souls are wounded, in pain, and filled with endless grief.
