Kipnis family
When alarms sounded in Be’eri, Nir Shani hid in his safe room. About an hour later, terrorists positioned themselves on the roof, then broke in and set the house ablaze. Nir sent farewell messages to his children, but was rescued by evening. At the Kibbutz assembly point, he learned his son Amit (16) had been abducted. Amit was freed after 54 days
Nir Shani in His Burned Home. Photo: Micha Brickman
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Nir Shani (46) and Tal Shani (47), divorced parents of four, live in separate houses in Kibbutz Be’eri. Over the Simchat Torah weekend, three of their children—Amit (16), Emma (12), and Rani (9)—stay with their mother Tal. Their eldest, Mika (18), is at Kibbutz Gvar’am, while Nir remains at his home in Kibbutz Be’eri’s "Kerem" neighborhood. When the alarms sound on Saturday morning, he gets dressed and heads to the safe room
Nir hears gunfire outside his house and realises terrorists have infiltrated the kibbutz. He closes the shutters, locks the house, and returns to the safe room. He messages his daughter Mika: “There’s gunfire inside the kibbutz.”
Terrorists kick the front door repeatedly, attempting to break in. When they fail to force it open, they climb onto the roof and position themselves there. Nir remains in the safe room, exchanging messages with his ex-wife, Tal
Terrorists break into the house, cut the power, and attempt to force their way into the safe room, but Nir braces the door and keeps them out. They then set the house on fire and leave. To block the smoke, Nir places a cloth beneath the door. About forty minutes later, he sends farewell messages to his family and writes to Tal: “They broke into the house. They have set it on fire… I’ll try to hold on as long as I can.” Later, he adds: “If I don’t make it, tell the kids I loved them.”
As the fire subsides, the terrorists re-enter the house. They attempt once again to break into the safe room, but Nir continues to hold them off. They set the house ablaze a second time and leave
While Nir is in the safe room, terrorists storm Tal’s house and abduct her along with the children—Amit, Emma, and Rani. The terrorists abduct six people from a neighboring home: Nira and Yossi Sharabi, their daughters Yuval, Ofir, Oren, and Yuval’s partner, Ofir Angel. The terrorists hold the ten hostages and march them through the kibbutz. At some point, they find a vehicle and force Amit, Yossi, and Ofir into it, taking them to the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, two terrorists stay behind to guard Tal, Nira, and the girls. Suddenly, the terrorists flee the site. Nira breaks into a nearby house, and the girls take shelter inside. At the same time, Nir tries to contact Tal, but the terrorists have taken her phone
Nir’s parents, Avraham and Simcha Shani, also reside in Be’eri. That same morning, they take shelter in their safe room. Around 2:00 p.m., terrorists break into their home and open fire at the safe room door. Simcha is wounded and manages to notify the family
Throughout this time, terrorists remain positioned on the roof of Nir’s house. By evening, they come down, and only then can security forces reach the site. Nir is rescued and taken to a nearby house. He is then evacuated to an assembly area outside the kibbutz, where medical teams connect him to an oxygen tank to help him breathe after inhaling smoke
Tal, Emma, and Rani arrive at the assembly area and deliver the devastating news to Nir: Amit has been abducted to the Gaza Strip. About half an hour later, Nir’s parents are evacuated to Soroka Medical Center
Security forces evacuate Nir to Kaplan Medical Center, where he remains for several hours before being discharged. Later that day, he arrives at a hotel in the Dead Sea area, where residents of Be’eri—including his family—have been relocated
The family focuses entirely on the mission to bring Amit back home. In the weeks that follow, Nir gives numerous interviews to local and international media outlets
After approximately ten days in the hospital, Nir’s parents are discharged
Amit Shani, Nir and Tal's son, is freed from captivity after 54 days
Nir leaves the hotel near the Dead Sea and returns to live in Be’eri
