Kibbutz Nir Oz on Thursday announced the death of Yair (Yaya) Yaakov, 59, who was murdered on October 7 and whose body is being held in Gaza by Hamas.
The kibbutz announcement states that "Yair worked in the garage of Kibbutz Alumim. He was a humble, simple man who loved family, land and music."
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At the headquarters of the hostages' families, they said that he was "a family man with a huge heart who was always ready to help everyone. Yair was always energetic. Ever since childhood, he loved to enjoy life, listen to music, sit with a cold beer in the sun. A person who is always surrounded by many friends. An oldest brother, who always guarded and protected his little brothers with ease and blessing, and a father who cares for and loves his children."
He left behind three children: Or, 17; Yigal, 13; and Shir, 21; and his partner, Merav Tal. His two young sons and his partner were kidnapped from the kibbutz on October 7, and were released as part of the hostage deal.
Or later published a heartbreaking post on social media in which he said goodbye to his father.
"Dad, I have no other words to describe it, but take care of me in heaven. I love you and I will not forget you, you will always be in my heart," he wrote.
Or and Yigal were released on the 52nd day of captivity and returned to Israel; Merav Tal was released the following day.
Yair and Merav were in their bomb shelter and struggled against the terrorists' attempts to infiltrate it; the two children were at a nearby house in the kibbutz at the time.
Merav left a voice message on her family's Whatsapp chat at the time of their abduction:
“They're inside the house, they fired at us in the room. Yaya, he held the door. They're inside the house, yelling ‘Ahmed, Ahmed.’ Help me, they shot us, Yaya's hurt. Call the police.”
And immediately after that: “Help me, they're here inside the house. Help me, help me, help me. Help us, call the police, quick. They're here inside the house."