Avital Aladjem

Woman kidnapped with neighbor's kids, safely brings the

Avital Aladjem

Avital Aladjem hid for hours in the safe room with her neighbor, Dr. Haim Katzman, until terrorists arrived. They murdered her neighbor on the spot and kidnapped Avital with the children of her neighbor, Adi Keflon-Vital. As they were moving towards Gaza, the terrorists suddenly released them. Avital managed to return the children to their father.

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    Recording of the moment Avital and the children were released across the border. From Al Jazeera.

    Woman kidnapped with neighbor's kids, safely brings the

    Avital Aladjem

    Minute by Minute Circle
    06:30
    ~07:00
    13:30
    18:50
    20:30
    23:00

    The sequence of events

    Minute by Minute

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    06:30

    Volleys towards Holit

    ~07:00

    Screams and gunshots echo throughout the kibbutz

    The neighbor arrives at Avital's house. The two hide in the safe room

    13:30

    Terrorists break into the house

    The terrorists lead Avital and the children between the houses of the kibbutz

    Avital and the children were kidnapped to Gaza

    The terrorists leave abruptly

    Avital notices another squad of terrorists and hides

    18:50

    Avital returns with the children to Israel

    20:30

    Travelers to Kibbutz Gvulot

    23:00

    The children's father meets them in Kibbutz Gvulot

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    With the alarm sounding, Avital enters her home's safe room.

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    Following the gunfire heard from outside, Dr. Haim Katzman calls his neighbor, Avital, to ensure her safety and says he will come to her house when there is a lull in the shooting.

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    Destruction throughout the kibbutz
    Destruction throughout the kibbutz From “The Evening News”
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    Destruction throughout the kibbutz
    Destruction throughout the kibbutz From “The Evening News”
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    Dr. Katzman arrives at Avital's house, asks about her well-being, and goes to check on her neighbor next door, Tehila Katabi. Haim returns to Avital and reports that Tehila has been murdered. While the shooting outside continues, Avital and Haim hide inside the closet in the safe room for several hours. Friends and acquaintances from around the country reach out on WhatsApp and try to help — but no one comes.

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    Correspondence between Haim Katzman and his friend, Asafsky Levi
    Aspsky
    Hi Haim
    11:31 07/10/2023
    Asafsky
    What's up?
    11:31 07/10/2023
    Haim
    Not good
    11:31 07/10/2023
    Haim
    Wounded, dead
    11:31 07/10/2023
    Haim
    We are in the safe room
    11:31 07/10/2023
    Aspsky
    Oh dear
    11:32 07/10/2023
    vitae
    Where?
    11:32 07/10/2023
    Haim
    We don't know what's going on
    11:32 07/10/2023
    Haim
    I'm at home in Holit
    11:32 07/10/2023
    Haim
    But all the Gaza Envelope in a mess
    11:32 07/10/2023
    Aspsky
    Yes I understand
    11:32 07/10/2023
    Haim
    The army did not even arrived.
    11:32 07/10/2023
    Haim
    They've been here for hours, I don't know if they're still here.
    11:32 07/10/2023
    Haim
    For now It's quiet
    11:32 07/10/2023
    Asafsky
    What a mess
    11:32 07/10/2023
    Asafsky
    Have you seen them?
    11:32 07/10/2023
    Haim
    I heard outside the window but neighbors saw them
    11:33 07/10/2023
    Haim
    They've burned down a house
    11:33 07/10/2023
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    Six terrorists arrive at the house and start shooting everywhere. Haim absorbs the bullets and is murdered. One of the terrorists finds Avital, who is hiding in the closet, and forces her to put on additional clothes over her own. She takes out three skirts and covers her legs, shoulders, and head with them. The terrorist moves her to the living room, where other terrorists are located. They hold Negev (3.5 years) and Eshel (4 months), the small children of her neighbor, Adi Vital-Kaplun.

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    The closet where Avital Aladjem and Dr. Haim Katzman were hiding after the attack
    The closet where Avital Aladjem and Dr. Haim Katzman were hiding after the attack
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    The closet where Avital Aladjem and Dr. Haim Katzman were hiding after the attack
    The closet where Avital Aladjem and Dr. Haim Katzman were hiding after the attack
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    Bullet shrapnel at Avital's house
    Bullet shrapnel at Avital's house
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    Her living room after the fight
    Her living room after the fight
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    Avital and the children are moved from house to house. In one of the houses, a family hides inside the safe room. The terrorists order Avital to convince them to come out, but the family members refuse, and by doing so, they are saved.

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    The kibbutz houses burned after the attack
    The kibbutz houses burned after the attack Photo: From “The Evening News”
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    The kibbutz houses burned after the attack
    The kibbutz houses burned after the attack Photo: From “The Evening News”
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    The kibbutz houses burned after the attack
    The kibbutz houses burned after the attack Photo: From “The Evening News”
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    The kibbutz houses burned after the attack
    The kibbutz houses burned after the attack Photo: From “The Evening News”
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    The terrorists continue to lead Avital and the children from house to house until they are eventually moved through a loophole in the kibbutz fence all the way to Rafah. Avital holds baby Eshel in her arms, while one of the terrorists carries Negev, who was injured, on his shoulders. Negev shouts that he wants to come down, but the terrorists keep walking toward Rafah. Avital leads the convoy of about ten terrorists. Occasionally, the terrorists take Eshel away from her and let her carry an RPG instead. Negev is on the terrorist's shoulders at the end of the convoy. They cross the breached fence and enter the outskirts of Rafah.

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      • Disable
      Recording of the moment Avital and the children were released across the border. From Al-Jazeera
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      About two kilometers from the houses in Rafah, the terrorists suddenly tell Avital that she and the children can go. One of the terrorists takes Negev off his shoulders and runs with the rest of the terrorists toward the Gaza Strip. Avital and the children are left alone, a few hundred meters inside Gaza. After all the terrorists walk past them, she begins walking with the children back toward Israel.

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        • Disable
        Recording of the moment Avital and the children were released across the border. Photograph: From Al-Jazeera
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        Near the border fence, Avital notices another squad of terrorists. She hides with the children behind a sand hill. The terrorists spot her but continue on their way to Gaza.

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          Squads of terrorists in the sands. Photograph: From Al-Jazeera
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          The journey toward the kibbutz continues under heavy shelling and fear of more terrorists on the way. Upon their arrival at the kibbutz fence, Avital bends part of the fence, and she and the children manage to get into Holit. When they return to the neighborhood from which they were kidnapped, a kibbutz member comes out to them and brings them into one of the houses, where two other survivors of the massacre are staying.

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          Under constant gunfire, Avital and the children travel with three members of Kibbutz Holit to Kibbutz Gvulot. Along the way, Avital is exposed to the bodies lying by the roadside and the burned cars.

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          A burned car on the roadside
          A burned car on the roadside Photo: From “The Evening News”
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          Anni Kaplon, the father of Eshel and Negev, who was staying at a party near Nirim and was saved, arrives at Kibbutz Gvulot escorted by the IDF and reunites with his children.

          The Day After

          Oct 8th, 2023

          The children are being treated at the hospital

          Oct 10th, 2023

          Adi Vital-Kaplun body is found
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          Eshel and Negev were evacuated with their father to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem

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          Adi Vital-Kaplun was presumed missing for three days. Her body was found booby-trapped, having been hidden by the terrorists in the safe room of her house.

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          Adi Vital-Kaplun Adi Vital-Kaplun
          Stories of Holit
          Fallen Names
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