Here Lived
Avner and Maya Goren z”l lived in this house. Before it became their home, it belonged to Avner’s parents – the late Yoram Goren, who was tragically killed in a car accident in 2014, and the late Pnina Goren, who passed away in 2019. Pnina and Yoram were among the founding members of Nir Oz, where they spent most of their lives and raised their three children: Dganit z”l, Avner z”l, and Smadar.
Avner was born on the kibbutz on January 3, 1967. He was deeply loyal to the values he was raised on in Nir Oz, such as a strong work ethic and personal responsibility. In his youth, he was a member, counselor, and community organizer in the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement, and he volunteered for his military service in the Film Unit of the Education Corps. From youth through adulthood, he worked in various sectors of the kibbutz – at the Nirlat factory, at the poultry farm, as a landscaper, and later in the kibbutz’s accounting department. He was always willing to help and share his knowledge and experience with the kibbutz and its members, always with quiet humility. Moreover, he was a man of culture and creativity, writing witty pieces that beautifully accompanied the traditional melodies of the kibbutz holidays.
Maya was born on May 5, 1967, in Ramat Gan. She was a natural-born educator from her earliest days; even back in preschool, she would soothe the children who cried for their parents. In her youth, she was a counselor in the Scouts (Tzofim), and in the army served as a Gadna commander. Later in life, she studied early childhood education. Upon arriving at the kibbutz, she worked for many years as a devoted caregiver and preschool teacher, nurturing countless infants, toddlers, and young children. She was always joyful and eager to share her knowledge and experience with anyone who asked, doing everything with humility and love. Moreover, she cared deeply and genuinely about the well-being and lives of everyone around her, from infants to the elderly.
Avner and Maya met in 1997 and were married shortly after in Nir Oz on March 19, 1998. They were loving parents to their four children: Assif, Bar, Gal, and Dekel. They were a deeply devoted couple, and throughout their 25 and a half years of marriage, they stood hand-in-hand through life’s most moving, joyful, frightening, and difficult moments.
In recent years, they moved into this house along with Dekel and the family’s cat and dog, George and Scar. Their home was a warm, loving place where the family gathered, frequently joined by Avner’s extended family – the family of Smadar Goren Alfassa.
October 7th
Tragically, on October 7, Avner and Maya found themselves in a situation where each had to face the terror completely alone, confronting the most cruel, monstrous evil imaginable.
Avner was in the safe room with Scar. Terrorists entered the house multiple times and even tried to force open the safe room door handle, which Avner fought desperately to hold shut. Eventually, they fired directly at the door and the handle. Avner was wounded and taken alive by the terrorists, while Scar was shot and killed. Avner was murdered on the way to Gaza, and several days later, his body was found in the fields of Nir Oz near the border. He was laid to rest in Nir Oz on October 23, 2023, at the age of 56.
On that morning, as she did on many Saturdays, Maya chose to rise early and organize the kibbutz children’s nursery, her place of work. There, she was shot, severely wounded, and abducted to Gaza, where she was murdered at the age of 56. Avner and Maya’s home was completely destroyed and looted by the terrorists.
Their children, Assif and Gal, were not in their apartments on the kibbutz and were thus saved from the massacre. Bar and Dekel were in their respective apartments and locked themselves in their safe rooms for 11 hours, surviving the slaughter. They were rescued by the military, brought to the emergency command center, and later moved to a local kindergarten. They were evacuated from Nir Oz on the afternoon of October 8.
What Happened Since
After 293 days of Maya being held captive by Hamas – during which the Goren Alfassa family fought tirelessly for her release and for the return of all hostages from Gaza – she was brought back for burial by the IDF. On July 24, 2024, she was laid to rest in the soil of Nir Oz, the kibbutz she loved so dearly, alongside her husband, Avner.
On January 26, 2026, after 843 days of fighting to bring all the hostages home, the final hostage was returned for burial.
