An Israeli American family of six killed by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 texted relatives they had made it to safety – only to then send heartrending messages in their final minutes as they were murdered in their home.
“They’re here. They’re burning us. We’re suffocating,” Yonatan (Johnny) Kedem Siman Tov texted his sister Ranae Butler, who lives in Israel, The Independent reported.
Tov, his wife Tamar Kedem-Siman Tov, 35, and their three children — 6-year-old twin girls Shahar and Arbel and 4-year-old son Omer — as well as his mother, Carol Siman Tov, 70, were all killed at the family’s home in Nir Oz, a kibbutz on the outskirts of Gaza.
The family fled to “safe rooms” after Hamas militants fired a barrage of rockets. Once inside, they texted family and friends they were safe.
“Hi guys, we got into the shelter in our house, we are all going OK,” Tamar texted a loved one.
But an hour later, the messages stopped.
Hamas militants had broken into their home and gunned them down in their safe room.
An Israeli American family had texted relatives they thought they had to made it safety – only to then send harrowing messages in their final minutes as they were murdered in their home. Tamar Kedem/Facebook
Yonatan (Johnny) Kedem Siman Tov, his wife Tamar Kedem-Siman Tov, 35, and their three children were all killed in the attacks. Facebook/Tamar Kedem
Carol Siman Tov, 70, the mother of Yonatan (Johnny) Kedem Siman Tov, was also killed at the family’s home in Nir Oz. kelly.ann.9022/Facebook“Our hearts are shattered,” a family friend, Yishai Lacob, posted on Facebook, according to The Sun.
“An entire family was killed by evil murderers who shot the children and parents simply because they were Jewish. And this is just one story, among so many. It’s unbearable.”
