Matan and Noam Ohayon

Nov 10, 2002 - Matan Ohayon, 5, and his brother, Noam, 4, of Kibbutz Metzer, were two of five people shot and killed by a terrorist who infiltrated the kibbutz, located east of Hadera near the Green Line.

The boys died in the arms of their mother, Revital, 34, as she tried to hide with them in a corner of their room. After putting them to bed several hours before, she had been speaking on the phone with her ex-husband, Avi, when she heard shots outside. She dropped the phone and ran into the boys' room, where the terrorist pursued them and shot them as they hugged one another. Avi Ohayon heard the fatal shots over the phone before it was disconnected.

Another kibbutz member, Yitzhak Dori, was killed in an exchange of fire with the terrorist, and Tirza Damari, of Elyachin, was shot as she was strolling with a friend, who escaped harm. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack. The terrorist escaped.

The boys had moved with their mother to Metzer from Pardes Hanna about three months before. She had been married to their father, Avi, for three years before their divorce three years ago.

Matan and Noam were pupils at the Calanit kindergarten and nursery school on Metzer. Their teachers described them as happy children who were glad to have moved from Pardes Hanna to the kibbutz, where they loved to go on daily excursions.

The house where they lived and were murdered with their mother was the former kibbutz kindergarten, which remained colorfully decorated. On the shelf above the bed where they were slain are three framed pictures of the boys laughing together.

Matan and Noam Ohayon are survived by their father, Avi, and grandparents Collette and Shimon Casus. They were buried with their mother at Tzur Shalom Cemetery in Kiryat Bialik.