Natalia Demidova, 39: Ukrainian tourist slain in Sderot

Natalia Demidova, 39, from Odesa, Ukraine, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in Sderot on October 7.

Natalia and her son, Mark, were visiting Israel to spend time with her boyfriend, firefighter Shalom Tzaban.

According to Haaretz, Natalia and Shalom met several years earlier when he visited Ukraine.

She had since visited Israel several times, and this time she arrived in late September 2023 to spend the holiday period together with Shalom and her son, Mark, age 12.

Mark later recounted to the newspaper that the three of them left the house to head toward Kiryat Gat, where Shalom planned on dropping off Natalia and Mark at his brother’s house before coming back to Sderot to join any rescue operations related to the rocket fire.

As they were driving in Sderot, Hamas gunmen opened fire on their vehicle, and Natalia and Shalom were both killed. Mark was hit and escaped from the car and started to run. He was taken in by a Russian-speaking woman who treated his wound, and later picked up by members of Shalom’s family and eventually returned to his father in Ukraine.

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