Gabriella Leimberg (59) and her daughter Mia Leimberg (17) from Jerusalem
Gabriella Leimberg (59) and her daughter Mia Leimberg (17) live in Jerusalem, and on the same Saturday they were staying in Nir Yitzhak with Clara Merman, Gabriella's sister (who was also kidnapped, along with another brother, Fernando Merman). When the attack began, several family members hid in a safe room, the terrorists broke in, broke down and destroyed the house and abducted them to Gaza. Since that day, Moshe Leimberg has been waiting for his wife and daughter.
Gabriella is the director of the SHEKEL Therapeutic Day Center, where she serves as a mother of dozens of children and adults coping with autism and provides a supportive shoulder to many family members waiting for her return. Maya is a twelfth grader at the School of the Arts, majoring in music.
In the "Headquarters of the Abductees" project, Eitan, a friend of hers, spoke about her kindness: "I came to school in tenth grade, a new boy at a difficult time in my life and she took care of me. She's my best friend." A friend of Mia's adds: "No matter how many horrors she's going through right now, let her know that there are a lot of people waiting for her and thinking about her. That she's not alone." On the day of the abduction, Bella, Mia's dog who had been with her on the kibbutz, disappeared ever since, since Moshe has been looking for her – so that she will wait for Maya to be released from captivity, including checking whether she was picked up by volunteers who gave her up for adoption.
Maya and Gabriella Leimberg, Photo: Private
Clara Merman (63) from Nir Yitzhak
Clara Merman, 63, a mythological kindergarten teacher, hosted several family members that Saturday, October 70, including her sister and daughter (Gabriella and Mia Leimberg), her brother Fernando Merman. Clara's boyfriend, Louis Herr, <>, was also with them. When the attack began, a number of family members hid in a safe room, the terrorists broke in, broke and destroyed the house, and abducted all five to Gaza.
Maayan Sigal-Koren, Clara's daughter, said during the struggle for the shutdown: "The connection between my mother and her two brothers is strong, it's not just that they came to Gaza together. My mother is the hottest woman in the world. She is a kindergarten teacher by profession, and for thirty years she took care of all the children of the kibbutz. I want my mother, and I want my family more than anything because I have to, because she's there, and they're there."
Clara Merman, Photo: Private
Ophelia Roitman (77) from Nir Oz
Ophelia Roitman (77) from Nir Oz immigrated to Israel from Argentina and holds Argentine citizenship. She is Hector's wife, mother of three children and grandmother of nine grandchildren. At 09:37 a.m., she sent the last message asking for help and saying that the terrorists were in her house. Contact has since been severed.
Natalie Madmon, Ophelia's daughter, said during the struggle to shut her down: "My mother has been an educator all her life, about twenty years a first and second grade educator, I'm sure that if there are children there and she's around where she can make them cookies and let them drink, she does it because it's her. An amazing woman, a woman of peace who doesn't belong in this accursed war."
Ophelia Rothman, Photo: Private
Ditza Heiman (84) from Nir Oz
Ditza Heiman, 84, one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, is a social worker with an illustrious career, for years she managed the social services department of the Eshkol Regional Council and even after her retirement continued to work at the Parents and Children Center in Be'er Sheva.
When Ditza's family heard about the attack in the south, they contacted her, but at around 10:00 a.m. she stopped answering and they were unable to contact her. In the afternoon, the family made another attempt to call their cell phones, but the ones who answered them were Hamas terrorists. In testimonies that her family received from neighbors, they were told that she was heard shouting "Help," but that they were unable to help her due to the large number of terrorists. One of the testimonies is that the terrorists walked her to her feet and kidnapped her.
Neta Heiman, Ditza's daughter, said during the struggle to shut her down: "When I imagine my mother there, she takes care of everyone. I imagine her, taking care of all the children there. This is my mother, she will take care of everyone, if she can only. If only they let her."
Ditsa Heiman, Photo: Private
Meirav Tal (53) from Gadera
On that Black Shabbat, Merav Tal was with her partner Yair Yaakov (Ya-Ya), the father of Or (16) and Yagil (12) Yaakov, who were released from Hamas captivity, while he was left behind. That Saturday, Merav managed to send voicemails to her family: "They were inside the house, they shot into our room. They're in the room shouting, help me, call the police," and a video of her from the kidnapping was circulated.
Rachel, Merav's mother, recently said, "This video we received that day is in my brain, I keep hearing it: 'Mom, help me, help me.' Yuval, her niece, also says that the pictures do not leave her for a moment: "Every night, before I close my eyes, I hear Merav say: Help me."
Meirav owns a clothing store in Gedera called "The Redheads in Bunka", her family tells of a dominant woman who surely takes care of the children. As mentioned, Meirav Tal (54) came from Rishon LeZion to Kibbutz Nir-Oz to mark the holiday with her partner Yair (Ya-Yaakov) (59). This is a particularly moving second chapter for both of them, parents of adult children, who have chosen to forge a new relationship.
Meirav Tal, Photo: Private
Norlin Babdila (60) Mihud Monosson
Norlin Badila Agojo (60) was abducted to Gaza from Kibbutz Nirim, where she came to visit from Yehud, where she lives, to visit her husband, who was unfortunately murdered in the terrible events. On social networks, they told of a woman loved by her family and friends, who wait for her every day until she returns.
Norlin Badilla, Photo: Private
Ada Sagi (75) from Nir Oz
Ada Sagi (75) from Kibbutz Nir Oz is a mother of three children and a loving grandmother of six grandchildren. She was supposed to celebrate her 75th birthday in London with her son, who lives there, and even bought a plane ticket. Instead, she was held captive by Hamas. On the terrible Saturday, the family was still in contact with Ada, who was in the safe room, but from 9:<> A.M., contact with her was lost. In Ada's home, signs of struggle were found indicating that she fought the terrorists and did not give up.
Her daughter Naveit Sela said, "My mother is a good woman, a good mother, a good grandmother. A language and Arabic teacher who was born and raised in Tel Aviv and came to Nir Oz in the nucleus of a stream, where she met Father Ashley and where they established their home." A year ago, Ada lost her husband but managed to rise from her grief. I know she's injured now, but I don't know how her health is."
Ada Sagi, Photo: Private
Tamar Metzger (78) from Nir Oz
Tamar Metzger (78) was abducted together with her husband Yoram (80) from their home in Nir Oz. She is the mother of three sons, and grandmother of seven grandchildren who joined the community of Kibbutz Nir Oz in the <>s, over the years serving the kibbutz in taking care of the community's clothing, education and the local grocery store. The kibbutz members say that Tamar is an excellent cook, a bookworm and enjoys watching telenovelas. Her husband Yoram was said to have worked in the Nirlat factory and in recent years in a garage. He is an avid history buff and a member of Nir Oz's winery and wine parliament.
Tamar Metzger, Photo: Private
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