Harrowing final text family-of-five murdered in Israel by Hamas sent to friends

10 October 2023 , 06:36

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Tamar and Yonatan Kedem are pictured with their children

A mum who was murdered by Hamas in Israel alongside her husband and three children sent a final WhatsApp message to her friends.

The harrowing message has emerged today, days after Tamar and Yonatan Kedem and their children Shachar, Arbel and Omer were slaughtered by Hamas militants. Sent on Saturday at around 2.45pm, it reads: "Hi guys, we got into the shelter in our house, we're all going okay."

But Tamar stopped responding to texts just one hour later. The family's safe room, a concrete bunker in their home, was raided and the five were killed on Saturday afternoon amid bloody scenes across Israeli settlements along the Gaza Strip.

The family's little village was raided on Saturday afternoon

Family and friends have shared online their devastation at the tragedies. "Our hearts are shattered," Yishai Lacob, a friend and one recipient of the message, wrote on Facebook. Yishai, from Sydney, Australia, added: "An entire family was killed by evil murderers who shot the children and parents simply because they were Jewish. And this is just one story, among so many. It's unbearable."

Tamar and her family lived in Nir Oz, a tiny farming village with a population of about 400, around two miles from Gaza. Mor said it was a peaceful village, ideal for raising a family.

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Paying tribute to mum-of-three Tamar, Mor told Sydney Morning Herald: "She was such a special woman. She always cared about the poor people, always made sure that people less fortunate will have the same opportunities." Tamar was a social activist who had been campaigning to become the head of Eshkol Regional Council, in Israel's southern district.

Buildings are destroyed in Gaza City after Israeli airstrikes (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

And, just four days ago, the mother had posted photos of her council campaign on Facebook. In a post translated from Hebrew to English, Tamar said: "Half-week summary post, because even Facebook can't keep up with me this holiday. The area speaks for itself - we want an attentive head of the council, who sees the residents - from young to old."

The attacks began about 6.30am Israeli time on Saturday when thousands of Hamas rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel and as far as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. At the same time, hundreds of Palestinian militants paraglided across the heavily guarded frontier, while others stormed towns by boat or after blasting holes in the Gaza–Israel barrier.

Bradley Jolly