{"id":39428,"date":"2023-11-10T19:29:18","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T19:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/miamiheatnation.com\/?p=39428"},"modified":"2023-11-10T19:29:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T19:29:18","slug":"my-fiancee-threw-himself-on-a-grenade-to-save-me-from-hamas-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miamiheatnation.com\/world-news\/my-fiancee-threw-himself-on-a-grenade-to-save-me-from-hamas-attack\/","title":{"rendered":"‘My fianc\u00e9e threw himself on a grenade to save me from Hamas attack’"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

The family of an Israeli man who leapt on a grenade to save his fiancee during the Hamas massacre say they no longer feel safe, adding: \u201cIt\u2019s like the Holocaust all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Netta Epstein, 21, was killed when terrorists cornered him and his partner Irene Shavit in their Kafr Aza apartment.<\/p>\n

After being slashed by shrapnel from two grenades tossed into their safe room, Netta covered the third with his body to absorb the impact.<\/p>\n

Irene, 22, said: \u201cThe grenade rolled over to me and Netta jumped on it while yelling \u2018grenade\u2019. This is what you do in the army. If you can\u2019t hide or run, you jump on it to save others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Irene escaped but later returned, refusing to leave Netta\u2019s body for fear that Hamas would take it. She hid under a bed for five hours until Israeli troops arrived.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Netta and Irene had been together for 18 months and both finished two years of mandatory service in the Israel Defence Forces this summer.<\/p>\n

They were due to be married in April. She visited the UK this week with his parents and two sisters to mark what would have been his 22nd birthday on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Irene had booked the surprise trip for him to watch his favourite football team, Liverpool, play Brentford on Sunday.<\/p>\n

While hiding in the safe room, Irene asked if he wanted to know what she had planned. Netta replied: \u201cTell me tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Irene said they would remember Netta with \u201clove and peace\u201d in their hearts at the match. She added: \u201cI hope he will be with me, explaining what I\u2019m watching because I don\u2019t know anything about football.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

Speaking in London ahead of their trip north, Netta\u2019s relatives relived the horrific events of October 7, when 59 people were killed in their quiet village. They lost five family members in total.<\/p>\n

Ayelet Shachar-Epstein, Netta\u2019s mother, said 18 people were also taken hostage, including a three-year-old girl whose parents were killed in front of her.<\/p>\n

They recalled how the words Tzeva Adom – meaning \u201cred colour\u201d – rang out from loudspeakers in Kafr Aza at 6.30am.<\/p>\n

Netta\u2019s mother, Ayelet Shachar-Epstein, heard that her mother-in-law had fallen outside her home and ran in her pyjamas to help. Upon arrival, she realised the 81-year-old had been shot in the back.<\/p>\n

Ayelet, 50, said she was \u201cdisappointed\u201d by the world\u2019s response to the barbaric terror attacks. She described how people had questioned whether it really happened or sought to justify the murders.<\/p>\n