A family sheltering in a bunker as Hamas militants stormed their community in southern Israel were reportedly killed just after sending a message reassuring their friends in Australia of their safety.
Tamar Kedem-Siman Tov, her husband Johnny, and their three children were locked in their safe room in the Nir Oz kibbutz when the attackers crossed the Israeli border on the weekend, the Sydney Morning Herald has reported.
She sent a message to some close friends in Sydney, Yishai and Mor Lacob.
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"Hi guys, we got into the shelter in our house, we're all going okay," she wrote at 2.45pm AEDT.
But an hour later she had fallen silent, and the Lacobs were unable to contact her.
"We were trying to speak with people there ... people we might know in this area, we were harassing everyone," Mor Lacob told the Herald.
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The Lacobs ultimately found out the devastating news that the Tov family's bunker had been breached and they had been among the hundreds of civilians killed in the attacks.
Their deaths have not been independently verified by Nine newspapers but has been reported in Israeli media and tributes have been made on social media.
Mor Lacob said Tamar, a women's rights campaigner and would-be local politician, was a "special woman".
"She always cared about the poor people, always made sure that people less fortunate will have the same opportunities," Lacob said.
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Tamar and her wheat-growing husband Johnny had three young children together - daughters Shahar and Arbel, both six, and son Omer, four.
Hundreds of people, mostly civilians, have been killed both in Israel and Gaza since Saturday.
Hamas militants have also claimed to hold 100 kidnapped hostages, whom they have threatened to kill if rockets continue to strike Gaza.
Israel-Hamas war: What you need to know
- Israel continues to pound Gaza with airstrikes, and thousands of rockets have rained down on Israel. More than 900 have been killed in Israel, and at least 600 in Gaza.
- A spokesman declares Hamas will execute Israeli hostages every time an airstrike hits civilian homes in Gaza. They state the surprise attack was launched after years of planning and preparations.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military is going on the offence against Hamas with a force "like never before". More than 300,000 reservists have been activated.
- Israel has declared a "complete siege" of Gaza, cutting off water, food and power supplies.
