Yahel Shoham

Yahel lives with her parents Adi and Tal, both aged 38, and her 8-year-old brother, Nave, in the community village of Ma'ale Tzvia. She is a happy child, passionate about singing, performing for her family, and enjoying music. Yahel likes playing in her toy kitchen, where she spends countless hours. She also loves jumping on the trampoline, playing with her father Tal, and singing to her dolls. She enjoys listening to stories her mother Adi and Nave read to her.
Yahel came to Kibbutz Be’eri with her family to spend the Simchat Torah holiday with grandma Shoshan (67) and grandpa Avshalom (66). On Saturday October 7th, seven of their family members were kidnapped from the same safe room at the Haran home: Adi, Tal, Nave and Yahel Shoham; Shoshan Haran; Sharon Avigdori (52), Avshalom’s sister, and her daughter Noam (12).
Yahel’s grandfather, Avshalom Haran (66), an economist and dual German-Israeli citizen, was murdered during the brutal attack. Avshalom’s sister, Lilach Kipnis, and her husband Evyatar Kipnis were also murdered in their home on the kibbutz.
Of the extended Haran - Shoham - Avigdori family, three members were murdered and seven others were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists.
Adi’s siblings, Yuval and Shaked, advocated fiercely for their family’s safe return home. The Haran siblings sought to approach the UN and the Red Cross aiming to share their ordeal and push for any possible information on their abducted loved ones. They described the catastrophe that ripped through their family and the constant state of powerlessness and anxiety they've endured since that day. "We're asking the UN and the Red Cross for at least a sign of life, to know their status," Yuval and Shaked said. "This is the most challenging part. We're desperate for a moment to pause, to breathe, to know they're alive, and only then can we think about the next steps. Our priority is to understand what's happening with them."
Adi, Nave and Yahel were released from captivity after 50 long days in Gaza as part of a temporary cease-fire agreement, along with grandma Shoshan. Sharon and Noam Avigdori were released together with them on the same day, 25 November 2023.
Yahel’s father, Tal Shoham, is still in captivity and his family, and all of us, await his safe return home.