Noam Elyakim, 46, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7.
The morning of the attack, terrorists stormed into the kibbutz home, which was also occupied by Noam’s daughters Dafna and Ela, his girlfriend, Dikla Arava, and Dikla’s son, Tomer Arava Eliaz.
Ultimately, Tomer, Dikla and Noam were slain and the terrorists kidnapped Dafna and Ela to Gaza, where they were held captive for 51 days before being released as part of a truce deal on November 26.
Noam’s body was not located and identified until October 17. Video from that day showed the terrorists forcing Noam to walk with them at gunpoint while seriously wounded in his leg — the last he was seen alive.
Noam was buried on Kfar Maimon on October 18, while his daughters were still being held hostage in Gaza. In addition to his two daughters, he is survived by his mother, Silvia, and his siblings Tzurit, Nofia and Oshri. He was predeceased by his father, Yosef.
Noam was a devoted family man who loved to sing at family gatherings and always made sure to bring his extended relatives together. According to a eulogy from Kibbutz Nahal Oz, after Noam met Dikla he decided to settle with her in the kibbutz in 2015.
“He brought with him a great deal of happiness, joy, songs, light and security to the home, and made Dikla happy,” the eulogy read. “Noam finished renovating their home around two years ago with a big, designed garden that gave hope for a future of many more years of endless love.”
Writing in April to her father on Instagram, Dafna said, “My father, I miss you so much.”
“It’s already been 196 days without you,” she wrote. “It’s already been 196 days without hearing your laugh, without seeing your smile in person and not in photos. I love you so much and I keep waiting for you to come to me in a dream so we can speak a little — and I can tell you how much I love and miss you.”
His cousin, Nitzan, told Israel Hayom, “Noam Elyakim, my cousin, was a man who was all heart, until his last moments.”
“Noam was very proud of his work and that he lived in the [Gaza] envelope area and was settling the land,” he added. “He was a man of action, generosity and kindness without limits — and always with modesty and quietly.”
After Noam’s father died a few years ago, “he took his place as the head of the extended family… he united the whole family and was its source of light and hope.”
Ahead of Memorial Day, his brother, Oshri, wrote on Facebook to “my dear brother Noam.”
“It’s so hard to speak about you in the past tense — every video of you I see, every voice note I listen to, I’m deluding myself that maybe it’s just a bad dream I need to wake up from, and you will show up,” he wrote.
“You knew how to reach everyone in a personal way, to guide, give good advice and always help,” Oshri added. “Our comfort, Noam, is that your girls Dafna and Ela returned from Hamas captivity, and there is not a day that I don’t thank God for the miracle that they are here. They miss you so much, your loss is so felt, but we will try as much as we can to fill the hole that you left behind.”
Over the past months, he said, “I have dreamed about you several times, and each time you looked good, smiling like nothing happened. As much as I want you by my side, these dreams showed me how good it is up there for you, together with Dad, Dikla and Tomer.”
