An Israeli family of five whose bodies were discovered in each other’s arms after being killed by Hamas militants were buried together at a funeral attended by hundreds of mourners.
Family and friends on Tuesday said goodbye to the Kotz family, a couple and their three children who were shot to death in their home at Kibbutz Kfar Azza during the Hamas invasion of southern Israel on October 7.
They were buried side by side in a cemetery 30 miles west of Jerusalem.
Aviv and Livnat Kotz, their daughter Rotem and sons Yonatan and Yiftach were found dead in a bed hugging each other, a family member said.
The family had moved to Israel from Boston and built the house four years ago on the kibbutz where Aviv had grown up, his wife’s sister, Adi Levy Salma, told Israeli news outlet Ynet.
“We told her it was dangerous, but she didn’t want to move, since it was her home for life,” Levy Salma said.
With Israel simultaneously in a state of war and mourning, the funeral was one of many held.
In Israel, grieving family and friends say goodbye to Shiraz Tamam, an Israeli woman who was among at least 260 people shot dead when heavily armed militants stormed an electronic music festival. Ron Haviv/VII/Redux People attending the Kutz family funeral with Israeli flags.Ron Haviv/VII/Redux
More than 3,400 people have died on the Palestinian side, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and funerals have been a part of daily life, with men running through the streets carrying corpses wrapped in white sheets and shouting “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase. because “God is great.”
In Israel, grieving family and friends say goodbye to Shiraz Tamam, an Israeli woman who was among at least 260 people shot dead when heavily armed militants stormed an electronic music festival.
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Mourners, most dressed in black blouses and some wearing sunglasses, wiped away tears and hugged each other as they said goodbye to Tamam before his shroud-wrapped body was buried in a cemetery in Holon, central Israel. .
With more than 1,400 dead in Israel and many still unidentified, funerals will continue for days or longer as the nation tries to cope with the trauma of the attacks that exposed glaring weaknesses in a defense system that some considered impenetrable.
A mourner bids farewell to Tamam before his shroud-wrapped body is buried in a cemetery in Holon, central Israel. Ron Haviv/VII/Redux Israeli soldiers greeting the family at the funeral. Photo by OREN ZIV/AFP via fake images
Many families woke up the day of the attacks to air raid sirens and rockets flying overhead.
Adi Levy Salma said her family ran to their safe room in their home in Gedera and she texted her sister to see if she was okay.
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But Livnat Kotz did not answer or respond to phone calls. Levy Salma became more worried when his niece, Rotem, did not respond.
“Then we started receiving reports of terrorists infiltrating the kibbutz,” Levy Salma said. “It was at that moment that we realized something bad had happened.
Aviv and Livnat Kotz, their daughter Rotem and sons Yonatan and Yiftach were found dead in a bed hugging each other, a family member said. AFP via Getty Images The family’s coffins were draped in the Israeli flag. Ron Haviv/VII/Redux
Their friends and neighbors responded, but they did not. “We were very worried.”
At the Kotz family funeral, soldiers and civilians sobbed. The graves were full of flowers.
Livnat died a week before her 50th birthday, her sister said. She worked to popularize ancient crafts and incorporate them into the school system.
Her husband was vice president of Kafrit Industries, a plastics manufacturer, the company said.
People mourning at the Kutz family funeral.Ron Haviv/VII/Redux
Rotem was a military training instructor in the Israel Defense Forces. The boys played basketball at the Hapoel Tel Aviv Youth Academy.
“Amazing kids with huge hearts,” Levy Salma said. “They had their whole lives ahead of them.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn