Tal Keren, 17: High school student who loved to surf

Tal Keren, 17, from Netiv Ha’asara, was murdered by Hamas terrorists at Zikim Beach on October 7.

Tal, a high school student, set out for the beach early that morning with two other friends, Nadav Tayeb and Or Taasa, to fish along the coast. All three were murdered in the Hamas attack along the beach.

In a final voice note sent just before his death published by Channel 12, Tal said, “You won’t believe it, we’re seeing rockets exploding in the water right before our eyes, five meters from us, rockets flying in the sky, boats fighting other boats, it’s insane, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

His family searched for him for hours, tracking his phone to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, eventually tracking the phone down further to the morgue, which was packed with bodies. His grandfather pulled out his phone and called Tal, and the sound rang out in the morgue. The staff was able to identify his body and provide his family with closure that day.

His sister shared on Instagram a photo of the three-word note he left behind at home when he set out early that morning: “I went fishing (Tal).”

Tal’s funeral was held on October 18 in Kibbutz Negba, and he was buried in Netiv Ha’asara. He is survived by his parents, Sivan and Alon, and his sisters Shay and Yuval.

The Zikim Beach, just a few kilometers away from Netiv Ha’asara, was Tal’s second home, his family said. He loved to surf — including taking trips to the Maldives and Sri Lanka to do so — and went on regular fishing trips with his friends. He also loved to play and watch soccer and was a big fan of Hapoel Beersheba.

For the past few years, Tal had worked on Fridays selling flowers from Netiv Ha’asara at the farmer’s market in Tel Aviv next to the port. With what he earned, he would fund his surfing trips.

Tal’s grandfather retired Brig. Gen. Aryeh Keren told a local news site that Tal was “almost always at our house in Ashkelon. He loved to surf and I loved to swim. His surfboard was always on standby at our house.”

The pair would head to the beach together, and Tal would surf while his grandfather swam. “We’d spend a lot of time together. And my wife, his grandmother, would always make sure to have lavish meals ready. He was surrounded by our love.”

A month after he was killed, his sister, Yuval, wrote on an Instagram memorial page, “I miss my little giant brother, I miss the boy with kind and sparkling eyes, the sweet smile, the barely-there mustache and the rosy cheeks.”

“I miss annoying him, hugging him, kissing him endlessly,” she added. “I miss our jokes and our laughter. I miss Fridays at the port with you, which became our quality time. I miss drinking beer with you and noshing from the barbecue. I miss your energy and your endless vigor… I miss getting up on Saturday morning and photographing you surfing on the beach. It feels like you just flew away for another long surfing trip — and will be back soon. I hope there are some good waves up there above.”

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