Avi Zakuto, 53, from Ofakim, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in the city on October 7.
Early that morning, he heard gunshots outside of his home, and since he was a trained paramedic he went outside to see if he could help, according to an Ofakim municipal eulogy.
He was shot dead by a cell of terrorists in the middle of the street.
Avi was buried in Beersheba on October 10. He is survived by his children, Adi and Liad, his parents, Regine and Shlomo, and his younger siblings, David and Keren.
Born in Istanbul, Avi moved to Israel with his family when he was less than two years old, according to a state eulogy. He was raised and educated in Beersheba, and completed his mandatory military service as an instructor on the Teleprocessing Corps’ training base.
After his release, he intended to spend five months traveling around South America, but ended up staying 3.5 years, before returning to Israel and getting a degree in tourism and leisure management from Ben Gurion University. In 1999 he married Carmen, and they had two children before divorcing following 14 years of marriage.
He had moved from Beersheba, where he had lived most of his life, to Ofakim just a few weeks before he was killed, to be closer to his work as manager of a Shufersal supermarket branch in the city. His hobbies, his loved ones said, included reading, dancing, playing board games with his kids, and above all taking trips to the Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee, which he loved and would make sure to visit several times a year, setting up camp on its shores.
Oren Anolik, the Israeli ambassador to Cyprus, wrote on X that he served with Avi during their military service, describing him as “extraordinarily handsome, with sparkling eyes, a big smile, boundless energy, and magnetic charisma. He possessed a magical charm; women adored him, and men wanted to be his friends.”
At Oren’s wedding, he recalled, Avi “set the dance floor on fire. Naturally, he was one of the last to remain, jumping into the pool wearing nothing but underwear. That’s how it was with him: fun and wholehearted.”
Avi’s cousin, Sigalit Levin, told the South African Jewish Report that he was “the most wonderful father, son, grandson, brother, nephew, and our first cousin.”
“Avi was the most selfless human and always made his family a priority. Continents apart, I’m so grateful for our WhatsApp video calls or voice notes,” she added. “You gave the biggest hugs, and you meant it! We’ll treasure the times spent together as a family with you in Israel. We’re absolutely heartbroken.”
His daughter, Adi, told a local news outlet that her father was “a family man from head to toe, the support system for all of us. He always did everything to keep the family unit intact, and for us to be there for one another even when things were hard.”
Her father, she said, “always loved life, had endless energy and radiating charisma. He would present himself in different and unique ways — if you’d ask him for his full name, he’d introduce himself as ‘Avi the handsome, smart and modest.’ He really was handsome and smart and in an ironic way — very modest. He would never brag and he had no arrogance, he would just say it to be funny.”
Adi said that her father would enjoy joking about his “full name,” but he would “always say that he was the most proud to introduce himself as the father of Adi and Liad. He was our biggest supporter, believed in us when we didn’t believe in ourselves, always made sure we would challenge ourselves, and never give up on any of our dreams.”
