Tal Haimi, part of Nir Yitzhak response team; his body is held in Gaza

The 41-year-old, a third-generation member of the kibbutz, was captured defending it on October 7

By ToI Staff 14 November 2023, 8:49 pm

Edit

Tal Haimi (right) with his wife Ela, was abducted by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023, from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak. His family was told on December 13, 2023, that he was killed during the October 7 attack. His body was returned to Israel on October 20, 2025. (Courtesy)

The death of Tal Haimi, 41, was confirmed on December 13, 2023. He was killed on October 7 and his body is believed to be held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip. This is the story of his capture and its aftermath:

Tal Haimi, 41, married to Ela and father to 9-year-old twins and a six-year-old, was taken captive by Hamas terrorists as they attacked Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak in a multi-pronged assault on October 7.

Haimi, a third-generation member of the kibbutz, was part of the Nir Yitzhak rapid response team, and went out that morning when it appeared that terrorists were infiltrating the kibbutz.

“Tal told me to go to the sealed room,” said his wife Ela in a video. “I wanted to stay in bed.”

As Tal left the house, he reminded Ela that the door of the safe room was broken, a thought that she kept circling back to throughout the rest of the day.

The couple spoke once that morning, and when Ela sent Tal a WhatsApp at 12 that afternoon, it didn’t go through.

“Then I realized that maybe everything isn’t okay,” she said.

The rest of the emergency squad returned to the kibbutz and as Ela asked where Tal was, no one responded and she understood that something had happened.

While terrorists did reach some of the homes in Nir Yitzhak, they never reached Tal and Ela’s home that day.

Later on that same day, all of the Nir Yitzhak families were placed in the kibbutz’s traditional children’s house for the night. The next day they were taken to Beersheba and from there to Eilat, where she’s been housed with her kids and the rest of the kibbutz.

The army has been in touch with Ela, “but they have nothing really to tell me,” she said.

“I rely on Tal to survive this,” she said. “I don’t know how much belief I have in those who are leading us to get him home. I wish there were others leading us right now.”

“This government should just go,” said Ela in the video. “Leave and let someone else take your place.”