Tamar Kutz, one of the founders of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, whose son Aviv, his wife Livnat, and their children Rotem, Yonatan, and Yiftach were murdered on the Kibbutz on October 7, passed away on Monday.
Kutz, 82, died in her bed in the assisted living facility where she lived after being evacuated from the kibbutz.
Tamar's husband, Benny, accompanied her until her last day. The two, veterans and leaders of the kibbutz, lived there their entire adult lives and raised their children there. Tamar was a kindergarten teacher for decades.
On October 7, when the shooting and rockets began, Tamar and Benny entered their home's bomb shelter. For a long time, they tried to establish contact with their son Aviv and his family, who lived on the edge of the kibbutz.
Only later did they discover that gunmen had broken into the family home and killed everyone, with Aviv hugging his wife and children in their final moments.
The unbearable grief of Oct 7 continues to ravage & ripple through Israeli society. Tamar Kutz, founder, educator, & pillar of the Kfar Aza community, has died.Her son Aviv, his wife Livnat, & their children Rotem, Yonatan, & Yiftach were brutally murdered in their home in Kfar… pic.twitter.com/IrN7GaNQtU
— מיכל קוטלר-וונש | Michal Cotler-Wunsh (@CotlerWunsh) May 19, 2025
In an interview conducted with her after the massacre, Tamar spoke painfully about her son's family's deserted house, where it seemed as if the residents had left for a moment and were about to return.
Kfar Aza seemed impossible to return to after October 7 massacre
"Our destruction is a kibbutz that was destroyed, literally the houses, the memories, the lives," she said. "We sat on the border, we guarded it, we established a settlement, and we were left alone. Not a single government representative came, did not listen, and did not take responsibility. We were like ducks in a shooting range."
"Aviv loved to fly kites - of hope, of light. That morning too, a kite was ready, but this time it did not go up into the sky," she said sadly.
In Kfar Aza, they paid tribute to Tamar and said that she died of a broken heart. "The Kutz family was the heart of the Kfar Aza," said one of their acquaintances. "The loss is not only of people but of an entire generation of faith, action, and hope."