One of the Canadians killed during Hamas’ attacks on Israel died saving his fiancée, his family says.
Netta Epstein, who was born in Israel but also has Canadian citizenship, jumped on a grenade to protect fiancée Irene Shavit, Epstein’s mother said in an interview.
“I hear shouts in Arabic. There’s a lot of noise around. There’s shooting,” Ayelet Shachar-Epstein said, describing the final communication she had with her son in an interview with CTV News.
“The next thing he wrote was, ‘They’re here, Mom.’”
The attacks, which began on Oct. 7, have killed 1,400 Israelis and claimed nearly 200 hostages.
The Shachar-Epsteins are residents of Kfar Aza Kibbutz, a small farming town in southern Israel close to the Gaza border, where conflict is part of their daily life.
“We know the drill very well,” said Shachar-Epstein, whose parents were originally from Montreal but were raised in Israel.
Sachar-Epstein took refuge in a safe room with her father-in-law after finding her mother-in-law dead at the entrance of their home. While in hiding, she still didn’t know that Hamas militants had broken through the Gaza Strip blockades.
She was informed through texting with other family members who were hiding in other locations, including her son and Shavit.
Shavit sent a message that Hamas militants had “burst into their room and threw grenades into the apartment.”
The attackers opened fire and a third grenade was thrown close to Shavit and “Netta jumped onto the grenade, like he was trained (to do) in the army,” recounted Shachar-Epstein.
This decision killed him, but saved Shavit.
“He had a huge heart, my son,” said Shachar-Epstein. “He was beautiful on the outside but also the inside.”
In the CTV interview, she recalled watching coverage if the 9/11 attacks while pregnant with Epstein, and hoping “we won’t be facing anything like that when my child comes to the world.”
Shachar-Epstein said her son “brought so much happiness and hope to our lives. He was my firstborn child but also the first grandson in our family so double happiness.”
“He was the kindest, smartest person I’ve ever met,” said Jake Niefeld, a childhood friend of Epsteins. “He was able to go one second to being the silliest person in the world and having the biggest smile on his face to, five minutes later, being able to be there for people. He was amazing,”
Once he completed high school, Epstein volunteered working with special needs youth.
“He really found himself there. It wasn’t an easy task at all,” said Shacher-Epstein. “He needed to really collect himself and be very strong to do what he did there. He was there for them. He had fun with them. He played soccer with them. He would read them bedtime stories. They loved him dearly.”
Shachar-Epstein reflected on her sense of relief following Epstein’s completion of mandatory service with the Israeli Defense Forces.
“Once he got out of the army…we took a deep breath and said, ‘Thank God, now he’s with us. He’s back at home and he’s safe.’ That’s…I don’t know how to say it… God laughed in our faces, I guess,” she said.
Shachar-Epstein also discussed Epstein’s relationship with Shavit, his fiancée, whom he met 18 months earlier.
“Although they’re both very young, they became a very serious couple,” she said.
“They were talking about getting married, having children, building their home. In many situations, I would say, ‘Hang on, Netta. It’s just the beginning of your life, there’s so many things you’re going to experience. You don’t need to obligate yourself so quickly.’ But he kept on saying, ‘Mommy, I love her so much. This is the woman of my life.’”
Over 50 residents of the kibbutz were murdered during the attack and more bodies continue to be discovered and identified.
Shachar-Epstein said that her nephew, who lived near Epstein, has been missing since the attacks began.
Local officials estimate over 2,800 people have been killed on both sides of the Gaza border in the last nine days.
