RELEASED: Shani Goren, 29, freed after 55 days in Gaza
Informal education counselor is loved for her energy and spirit at Kibbutz Nir Oz
Shani Goren was released on November 30 as part of an extension of a temporary ceasefire deal brokered by Qatar and the United States between Hamas and Israel. This is the story of her capture:
Shani Goren, 29, was abducted by Hamas terrorists from her safe room in Kibbutz Nir Oz, frozen with fear in her bed, around 10:30 a.m. on October 7.
The safe room door wasn’t closed well, said her mother, Tamar Goren, speaking in a video posted on Facebook.
“She was by herself,” said Tamar Goren, “and she was so afraid. She yelled, ‘Don’t take me!'”
The terrorists took her on a trailer attached to a truck, with two other families, according to eyewitnesses who saw Goren being taken captive.
Shani works in the kibbutz educational system as a counselor. She is someone greatly admired for her energy and sense of joy, described as the beating heart of her friends in the kibbutz, always ready to host everyone in her home.
After Eitan Yahalomi, 12, was released from captivity this week, he told his family that he was alone for the first two weeks and was then placed with other Nir Oz kibbutz members, including Goren, his former youth counselor.
Goren cared for Yahalomi, giving him some of her food and supporting him throughout his captivity.
Goren was born and raised on Nir Oz, where her Uruguayan-Israeli parents Tamar and Roni — now separated — settled 31 years ago. Tamar’s parents, who met in the Hanoar Hatzioni Zionist youth movement in Montevideo, arrived by boat in Israel in 1953.
