Yaakov Mortov, 66, from Ofakim, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in Sderot on October 7.
Yaakov was one of 13 senior citizens on a minibus that was heading toward the Dead Sea who were slain in Sderot that day. The minibus stopped with a flat tire next to a bus stop in the city. In a final photo taken of him alive, Yaakov can be seen sitting on the bench of the bus stop holding his cane.
As the group was standing at the bus stop, air raid sirens sounded in the city, and the automated doors of the bomb shelter were supposed to unlock, but they remained shut and the travelers were unable to get inside. Moments later, a pick-up truck of terrorists drove by and shot dead all 13 pensioners. Only the driver emerged alive.
Images of the group of older Israelis lying dead at the bus stop were among the first to circulate on the morning of the Hamas onslaught, shocking Israelis and the world with the brutality of the assault.
Yaakov’s body was not identified for close to two weeks following his murder. He was buried in Ofakim on October 18. He is survived by his two sons, Alexei and Michael.
According to a eulogy from the Ofakim municipality, Yaakov was born in Rostov-on-Don in what is now Russia, and moved when he was 10 years old to northern Russia along the border with Finland. A few years later he returned to his hometown to finish his high school studies before enlisting in the army and serving for two years in the engineering corp.
After his service, Yaakov returned to Rostov-on-Don and studied economics for seven years, earning his doctorate. Despite this, he worked for years as a mechanic at a factory on the internal transportation network for workers. In 1996, his wife and children moved to Israel and in 1997 he followed.
At the time of his death, Yaakov had been working for around three years at the Beit Hayotzer – ADI Ofakim employment center, where he assembled electronic circuits for “Flex” smart home devices.
His managers at work remembered Yaakov as a “quiet and humble man. He was a professional and did his work well, he was friendly and pleasant to be around.”
