Yam Goldstein-Almog

Nadav Goldstein, 48, and his daughter, off-duty IDF soldier Staff Sgt. Yam Goldstein-Almog, 20, were murdered by Hamas terrorists in their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza on October 7.

The family’s mother, Chen, and their three younger children, Agam, 17, Gal, 11 and Tal, 9, were all kidnapped and taken to Gaza by Hamas. On November 26, they were released from Gaza and returned to Israel.

When the rest of the family returned home, their relatives found out that Chen had seen Nadav and Yam killed before she and the other kids were taken captive. They were relieved, in a sense, to not have to be the ones to break the news.

Varda Goldstein, Nadav’s mother and Yam’s grandmother, said after the rest of the family’s return that “it’s so exciting to see the kids, to touch them, to see that they’re in good shape and they look good and are smiling. But on the other hand, we need to have an emotional balance with the fact that there are also family members who were murdered.”

In addition to his wife and three of his children, Nadav is also survived by his sisters, Inbar and Naama, and his parents, Varda and David Goldstein.

The family didn’t want to bury Nadav and Yam — who were identified several days after the massacre — until they knew what had happened to Chen, Agam, Gal and Tal. It took another 10 days before the family discovered Chen and her three children were officially considered hostages in Gaza, according to army intelligence.

On October 23, they buried Nadav and Yam in Kibbutz Shefayim, where most Kfar Aza residents were evacuated. The funeral was held, with cruel irony, on Chen’s birthday.

Chen and Nadav were high school sweethearts who met when they were 14, married young and made their home in Kfar Aza, a place they never thought about leaving, no matter what was happening in the Gaza border community.

“My brother-in-law always said, ‘You don’t leave your home,’” said Omri Almog, Chen’s sister. He recalled that when visiting his brother-in-law in intensive care over the summer after a riding accident, Nadav told him, “Hope dies last.”

Nadav was remembered by family and friends as a dedicated athlete, who competed in triathlons, and was delivered a recent setback following his accident. By day he was the vice president of business development at Kafrit Industries, Kfar Aza’s publicly traded plastic manufacturing company.

Family said that Nadav was likely hobbled by his accident on the day of the attack, and that Yam tried desperately to reach out for help, texting the army, the police and anyone she could reach trying to get help before she was murdered.

Yam was recalled as devoted to her military service, where she worked as acommander in the Computer Service Directorate. In the end, her body was identified by her butterfly tattoo, said family.

Nadav’s sister, Inbar Goldstein, told the Kan public broadcaster that her oldest brother was “talented, smart and beautiful… he was a role model – the best I could have had.”

At their funeral, Inbar recalled Yam as someone who “if anybody needed help, she was the first to be there.”

Varda, Nadav’s mother, shared on Facebook the eulogy she wrote for her son and granddaughter.

“My beloved family, my beautiful son, my gorgeous granddaughter, you are my glorious heroes,” she wrote. “Nadav and Yam, beautiful as the glow of the heavens, bereft of all evil. Their voices fell silent. Our most precious murdered, looted, taken captive.

Varda wrote that her son and granddaughter “gave us the privilege of being parents, gave us a whole life of love and laughters and tears, a whole family happy and joyous, sometimes in pain, sometimes crying… give me one more magical moment together. I miss you so much.”

“My beautiful and brave, beloved Nadav and Yam, rest in peace.”