Inbar Boyum

Inbar, the eldest son of Gil and Ayelet, was born on December 4, 2000 in Be’eri. He was a fair-haired baby, and the color of his hair suggested his name (“Inbar” is “Amber” in Hebrew). But it wasn't only Inbar’s hair that was yellow. He was born with severe jaundice. It was a week before Ayelet and Inbar could leave the hospital for her parents' home in Sderot, where Inbar’s brit took place. Inbar's great-grandfather was the godfather.

From the moment he was born, Inbar was engulfed in love. His father, Gil, used to take him for rides on the kibbutz tractors. He was the most sensitive child in the "Cocos" class; when a child in the kindergarten cried, Inbar would go up to the child and simply say, "I'm here with you."

Up to the age of two and a half, Inbar ate everything, even zucchini. But as he grew up, he became a true carnivore. He loved steak. As a teenager, he enjoyed grilling tuna. He once did it on the roof of the house, and the whole family thought the house was on fire.

That he was a bright boy was evident from an early age. He was intelligent and conscientious. He studied computers and physics, played soccer and practiced judo for years. Like Gil, Inbar loved music. His headphones seemed to be permanently on his head, even in class. He loved rap and black music, but also Ehud Banai.

Inbar did a year of service at Kibbutz Magal. When he received an 82 Military Profile, he did what he could to raise it. He underwent surgery so that he wouldn’t have to wear glasses and began preliminary screenings to become a pilot, but his vision problems interfered. He decided to enlist in the Golani brigade, and after enlistment, he declared his intention to join a sayeret (special reconnaissance unit). The skinny boy became a medic in the Golani sayeret. To be the best, he would practice bandaging and other skills on his friends. From the moment he enlisted, he became a fitness freak. He would go to the gym in the base at two o'clock in the morning and also worked out on the kibbutz and in Sderot. The family was worried about his well-being and anxiously awaited his discharge.

After his discharge, in April 2023, Inbar debated his next step and decided that he did not want to take on a job that required a long commitment. He was hired as a security guard at the EAPC (Europe Asia Pipeline Co) in Ashkelon. To be closer to work, he went to live with his grandmother, Simcha, in Sderot. The night before he was murdered, he sat with his mother and told her that he was contemplating studying medicine, but the seven years of schooling worried him. Ayelet told him that he would definitely succeed.

Inbar was a big brother in every sense of the word, always protective and helpful. He would have heart-to-heart talks with his sister – about relationships, the army, and everything under the sun. When the four siblings were at home together, they liked to play games like Catan and Rummykub. They also loved going out, bowling and picnicking together. Ayelet called him "Mommy’s Prince." “The Royal Family" was the name of the family's WhatsApp group. He was always surrounded by friends – from the kibbutz, from the army. Inbar was handsome, a party man who loved get-togethers. He devoured life with gusto.

Inbar had his first girlfriend already in third grade. He was a gentleman and charmed the ladies. He met his girlfriend Yuval about three months ago at "Hummus Shel Tahini" in Sderot, while meeting some guys he knew. The two discovered that they had the same tattoo, and from there sprouted a great love. It wasn’t long before he was considered a member of Yuval's family in Mabu’im. They started planning a trip to Thailand.

Inbar loved tattoos. On his right hand he had the birth date of his late grandfather, Shimon, in Roman numerals. He also had tattoos of coconuts, for his kibbutz cohort (Cocos), an alien, spaceships, a paddle boarder, and also the icon of a rapper he loved. His aim was to add more and more.

On October 7, 2023, after a 12-hour shift at work, Inbar was at Yuval's house. As soon as they heard what was happening in the area, Inbar told Yuval that he could not sit idly by and decided to go to EAPC, get weapons and return to defend his house in Be’eri. Yuval begged him to stay, but Inbar was determined and set off. At 7:34 am on Route 34 – almost the same moment his father Gil died – Inbar's phone died.

In the words of David Grossman: "His gaze had just opened / but began to bloom. / It had just been given to me and immediately withdrawn."

On his finger, Inbar wore, as always, the black ring of his and his comrades in the commando unit.

May his memory be a blessing.