Tamar Kutz died Monday in her bed at the assisted living facility where she had been staying since being evacuated from Kibbutz Kfar Aza following the October 7 attack.
Kutz, who was among the founders of Kibbutz Kfar Aza and whose son, Aviv, his wife, Livnat, and their children, Rotem, Yonatan, and Yiftach, were brutally murdered in the October 7 massacre at the kibbutz, passed away this week in her seventies.
Her husband, Benny, was by her side until her final day. Benny and Tamar were leading and beloved figures in the kibbutz, where they lived their entire adult lives and raised their family. Tamar worked as a beloved kindergarten teacher and educator for many years.
On the morning of October 7, when the attack began, Benny and Tamar entered their safe room. They repeatedly tried to check on their son Aviv and his family, who lived at the edge of the kibbutz, but were unable to establish contact with them. Later, it was discovered that gunmen had broken into the family's home and shot all family members to death, with Aviv embracing his wife and children in their final moments.
These were Tamar's words at the family funeral held in October 2023: "Your dream house that you planned together now stands empty and orphaned, overlooking the fence and the houses on the other side, where monsters grew, toward the strip of blackness and evil. Last Saturday, in the place that was your home and where all your lives were cut short, you embraced everyone – but this time you couldn't protect them, and we are left crying and orphaned."
