According to Israel national news, Yotam's last message to the family group read: "Mom, it’s a matter of minutes. They are already here and they will probably kill me. I just hope I’ll survive. If I don’t survive, know that I love you," she recalled.
"The time 10:44 will always be remembered as the last moment we heard from Yotam," she continued. "I didn’t get a kiss or a shy smile."
Iris expressed that one source of comfort for her is knowing she is not alone in her grief. "I live within my people, a nation that still mourns and fights for its life, cries for its dead, and prays for the return of its hostages. In this journey, we have discovered brave heroes, both in and out of uniform. The beautiful nation of Israel continuously chooses to persevere. They wanted to murder our children, and they did, but they can’t destroy our spirit."
She also shared her empathy for the families of other hostages and the pain felt by many Israelis, praying that their deaths will not be in vain.
"The cursed Hamas and its murderous agents didn’t care whether my son observed the Sabbath or who I voted for. They made no distinction between an Israeli Jew and an Israeli Arab, targeting all within the diverse mosaic of our society," she concluded.
