Sonia Popov

Came to Israel for their only child. Murdered by Hamas terrorists in Sderot on October 7.

Sofia and Vladimir Popov, 68 and 74, were murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 with a busload of 11 other senior citizens heading on a trip to the Dead Sea.

They are survived by their only daughter, Tanya Lviv, as well as a son-in-law and two granddaughters.

The group were all killed when their tour bus stopped in Sderot with a flat tire. The group got off the bus to try to enter a roadside bomb shelter, only to find it locked.

Not long after, a truckful of terrorists who drove by murdered all of them, with only the bus driver surviving. Photos of the bodies of elderly people strewn on the ground next to a bus station were among the first to emerge from the atrocities of October 7, shocking the nation and the world.

The Popovs moved to Israel from Ukraine in 2010 to join their daughter, Tanya Lviv, and her family. They settled in Kibbutz Ofakim, where they lived for nearly 15 years alongside their daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren.

Sofia was a construction engineer who was very fond of crocheting as a hobby, according to a memorial post on the Ofakim municipality website. Vladimir was a car mechanic, and in Israel, he worked as a vehicle fleet manager for the Education Ministry. He enjoyed gardening and carpentry in his free time.

“My parents were good, innocent, open-hearted people,” their daughter Tanya told AT magazine. “My mother was a kind woman who helped many people and they were a huge support for me. Mom got sick here [in Israel] and underwent oncology treatment and recovered.”

The two were buried in Ofakim; however, according to AT, they could not be buried alongside each other as Vladimir’s status as a Jew was never confirmed.

“My parents loved living in Israel and traveling [around the country]. Their lives recently started to settle down and that’s when it all ended — and how it ended, it’s so cruel.”