Daughter Recounts Hamas Attack That Killed Mother, Aunt on Oct. 7

Irit Starobin shared her harrowing experience of learning her mother, Nadezhda Spravchikova, and aunt, Natalia Tomaeva, were among 13 people murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. The two sisters were traveling to the Dead Sea in a microbus with a group of Russian-speaking Israelis when their vehicle got stuck in Sderot due to flat tires. A nearby shelter, which should have opened automatically, failed to do so, leaving them exposed. Starobin recounted how she initially tried to contact her mother, receiving only strange, long dial tones. She later identified her mother and aunt in graphic photos shown on television, recognizing her mother by her clothing and her aunt by her build and hair. For eight days, Starobin clung to the hope that they might be alive in a hospital, despite initial reports of bodies remaining in Sderot. Official confirmation of their deaths arrived eight days later, a delay attributed to the large number of victims, bodies left in the heat, and the need for DNA identification. Starobin is now participating in a lawsuit against the Sderot municipality and Motorola Solutions over the malfunctioning shelter, seeking accountability for the system's failure. She emphasizes that the lawsuit is not primarily about compensation but about understanding why the shelter did not open and preventing similar tragedies. The tour organizer, Alexey Davydov, has since changed his company's name, making him difficult to pursue legally. Starobin also reflected on her mother's life, describing her as a devoted grandmother who was preparing gifts and a cake for her youngest grandson Ben's seventh birthday, which was scheduled for October 10. Her mother, who immigrated from Dushanbe in 1948, had a background in chemistry and later worked with the elderly, always prioritizing her family. Starobin also found an unfinished knitted dress her mother had made for her granddaughter Emilia, a poignant reminder of her mother's interrupted plans and life.