Vitaly Tropanov, who was murdered in Kibbutz Nir Oz and his entire family was kidnapped to Gaza, is now being laid to rest at the Yarkonim cemetery in Petah Tikva. Vitaly's wife, Yelena, appeared in a video released yesterday by Hamas showing three abductees.
Simcha and Leah Goldin at Vitaly's funeral, today, photo: Yaron Doron
Vitaly and Vilna, in their 50s, immigrated from Russia 25 years ago together with their son Alexander. They chose to live on Kibbutz Nir Oz near Gaza. Five years ago, 5-year-old grandmother Irena joined the family.
Yelena and her family, photo: courtesy of the family
On the weekend of the holiday, son Alexander and his partner Sapir Cohen came from Tel Aviv, where they live, to stay with Alexander's parents and grandmother in Kibbutz Nir Oz. The terrorists who infiltrated the kibbutz on the morning of the holiday murdered father Vitaly and kidnapped mother Yelena, grandmother Irena, son Alexander and his partner Sapir.
At first, the kibbutz members did not know what had happened to the family. A kibbutz member who survived the massacre said she saw Yelena being taken away by the terrorists. A video circulated by Hamas yesterday corroborated her statement. The video, which shows three abductees asking the prime minister to release them, shows Yelena. In addition, a video was released showing Sapir riding a motorcycle in the Gaza Strip.
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