Remains of Dolev Yehud, initially presumed captive, identified in Israel
35-year-old father of four and volunteer medic from Kibbutz Nir Oz was killed after he left his home to aid his neighbors on October 7
On June 3, 2024, Dolev Yehud, 35, initially thought to have been taken hostage to the Gaza Strip by Hamas terrorists on October 7, was declared dead after his body was identified in Israel. Yehud, from Kibbutz Nir Oz on the Gaza border, was a volunteer medic with Magen David Adom and United Hatzala. On the morning of October 7, he left his house to aid others amid the Hamas onslaught, before being killed. Below are the reports of his initially presumed capture:
Dolev Yehud, 35, was presumed taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, when Hamas terrorists launched an attack, killing and kidnapping a quarter of the kibbutz residents.
His sister, Arbel Yehud, 28, is still presumed a captive. The Yehud siblings are the third generation of their family living on the kibbutz.
Dolev is married with four children; his wife, Sigal, gave birth to their fourth child on October 16.
He’s known as a family man, a volunteer medic at Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah, and a lover of standup and podcasts about comedy.
Sigal, known as Sigi, told Channel 12 that Dolev heard what was happening on the kibbutz that morning and left the house to go help.
She stayed with their three children for nine hours in their safe room, without hearing from him.
“He told me to stay in the safe room, to be calm,” said Sigi, who was nine months pregnant at the time. “He asked me to stay calm and try to work on my breathing as much as I can.”
Sigi and Dolev have been together since they were 12 years old, she said.
“My life now is not a life, I’m missing half of it,” said Sigi. “I don’t have that much of a life now.”
Sigi and her children were evacuated at 4 p.m. on October 7, after being there for hours without food and water, and she feared she would go into labor.
She gave birth on October 16, “a difficult, mentally difficult birth,” said Sigi.
They now have four children, Raz, 7, Yotam, 6, and Ron, 3 and now Dor, the newborn.
Sigi said she named Dor with the letters of Dolev’s name to symbolize the continuity of life.
“I want him alive and I want him to know her and she needs to know her father and she needs to grow up with her father,” said Sigi.
