Here Lived
Rotem Shamir, 31 years old, lived in this home. He was a third-generation descendant of the founders of the kibbutz, Hana and Mayor Lavee. He lived most of his life on the kibbutz, close to his family and the community. He worked at the regional council’s scientific educational center, “Groovetech”, along with his cousin, Arbel Yahud. In this home he used to host friends from the kibbutz, as well as his beloved cousins.
October 7th
On October 7, he was at home with Sasi, his partner’s dog. She was abroad at that time. At about 9:30 a.m., the terrorists entered the house and destroyed and looted his property. During the day, the terrorists struggled several times to open the safe-room’s door. They aimed bullets at the door, and one bullet penetrated it and hit Sasi’s leg. Rotem managed to prevent the terrorists from entering and survived until about 3:30 p.m. when he heard his cousin Neta and his dog Burma outside and saw a soldier through the bullet hole in the safe room door. He was then evacuated to the command center of the kibbutz. Until then, he was unaware of the fate of his family, as contact with his parents, his grandmother, and cousins was cut off since the morning.
What Happened Since
After being evacuated to the command center with the rest of the survivors, he noticed the absence of many of his friends, as well as his cousins: Dolav Yahud z”l, who was considered kidnapped until March 2024, when his remains were found in the kibbutz, and Arbel Yahud was kidnapped from her home with her partner, Ariel Cunio. Arbel returned to Israel on January 29, 2025, in the second hostage deal, after 482 days in captivity. Ariel returned to Israel on October 13, 2025, in the last hostage deal, after 738 days in captivity.
