Eight months after he was kidnapped in "Nova" and murdered in Gaza, the sister of the late Ofir Sarfati gave birth to a son named Rambam.
"I dreamed that I was meeting Ofir and telling him about this pregnancy and seeing the expression of joy on his face. He knew how long we had been waiting for another child. I feel that this is the gift he gave to me, to our family, so that we would have a way to expand our hearts and maybe be a little happy," so Says Shovel Kostenko-Srafati, the sister of the late Ofir Srafati, who was kidnapped on October 7.10th from the "Nova" party and murdered in Gaza, a day after she gave birth to her son Rambam, "I have no doubt that he watched over me throughout my pregnancy, I have no doubt That he was with me in the delivery room, and that this is Ophir's way of continuing to make sure we'll be okay."
She discovered that she was carrying a baby in her womb, two days before Black Sabbath
For a long time, Shuval Kostenko - Sharfati (30) and her husband Max (37), from Kiryat Ata, tried to conceive again and have a brother or sister for their daughter Emma, who is 3.5 years old. After two miscarriages and a lot of heartbreak, Shuval found out that she was carrying a baby in her womb, two days before Black Shabbat. "We, the brothers, are very connected to each other," Kostenko-Srafati testifies about her relationship with the late Ofir and their younger sister Lior, 21, "I really wanted to tell him, I knew he would be happy, but he is also very sensitive and I wanted to wait longer Some. Let's be sure that his heart won't break."
Ofir did not have time to receive the news about the nephew on the way. While trying to rescue his friends and other participants from the "Nova" party, he was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in Gaza, and for about two months was considered one of their hostages. At the end of November, the Sarfati family was informed that Ofir was no longer alive, when his body was identified in the Shifa Hospital area and brought to Israel for burial.
Suddenly a miracle happened
"Eight months have passed since then. This pregnancy passed without me feeling it. I wasn't present. My heart and mind were somewhere else," Shuval says, "I came to the birth as if to carry out a mission, but there, in the delivery room, suddenly a miracle happened. I called him, I felt that he was with me When I saw the baby it was as if a cork had been removed that was blocking my heart, I suddenly felt that I could breathe, feel, be happy.
It is impossible to describe the feeling of the embrace and love that was there in the room. In me, in my family members, in the team that took care of me. Everywhere I looked I saw good eyes. My parents, who had suffered so much in those months, felt the same. Yesterday we realized that this is our life. Not just sadness. But sadness together with joy."
Around Shuvel's bed in the maternity ward hangs the pictures of her brother Ofir
His smile sprouted from every frame and wall, and she looks peaceful and calm as she hugs her little son. "Everyone asks me. Will you call him Ofir? I think that Ofir is a very big part of him, and always will be. I will tell him about his uncle and make it clear to him how much he is missed, but there is Ofir and there is the baby. We know that joy will come with him, but this is not His responsibility. He will be who he is, and we will make sure that Ofir and everything he was will not be forgotten and will live in us and with us."
Shuval Kostenko - French talks about the exciting birth and the longing for her late brother ► Watch
