Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Tal Haimi was born and raised in Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, a few kilometers from the Gaza border. When dozens of Hamas terrorists infiltrated his hometown on October 7, 2023, he showed extraordinary bravery in defending it from the onslaught.
A third-generation resident of Nir Yitzhak, Haimi was born in 1981 and graduated from Ma’ale Habesor School. Like many of his peers, he was a member of the pioneering Zionist youth movement Hashomer Hatzair and even dedicated a year of service to the movement after high school.
He enlisted in the IDF’s 202nd Paratroopers Battalion of the 35th Paratroopers Brigade. According to Nir Yitzhak’s memorial page, he “stood out with his skills” and was remembered as an “outstanding warrior” during his service.
After completing his army service, Haimi studied mechanical engineering at Ben-Gurion University and later worked in a factory in Revivim, specializing in injection molding.
Family mourns loss of slain hostage Tal Haimi
In 2014, he and his wife, Ela, welcomed twins, Einav and Nir, followed by their son Udi in 2017. The kibbutz described the family as “pillars of the community,” known for organizing events and always lending a hand.
On the morning of October 7, Hamas terrorists stormed the kibbutz, aiming to kill and kidnap residents. Tal urged Ela, who was in her second month of pregnancy, to take shelter in the safe room with their three children.
As the commander of the kibbutz’s emergency response squad, he left to defend his community alongside other volunteers. He answered a phone call several hours into the fighting, but a message sent to him around noon went undelivered.
Ela and the children spent more than 14 hours locked in their safe room. “I started to think that I didn’t know what was going on with Tal,” Ela later recalled. “Our families, our friends – everything was going to be changed.”
When the fighting finally subsided, Ela saw members of the defense team returning home without her husband. That evening, he was declared missing, and his phone was tracked to Khan Yunis.
For weeks, his fate was unknown. Then, in mid-December 2023, the IDF informed the family that Tal had been killed on October 7 and his body taken to Gaza. “It broke my heart, and it broke my life,” Ela said of that moment.
“You left me four gifts in your image,” Ela said in her eulogy. In May 2024, she gave birth to their fourth child, a son named Lotan. In Hebrew, the name shares two letters with Tal, ensuring that his legacy lives on through his family and the community he died protecting.