Content Note: This article includes disturbing information.
When asked to portray her daughter, Jacqui Rivers Vital recalls Adi Vital-Kaploun as a fierce protector who bravely fought to shield her children in her final moments.
Adi Vital-Kaploun, aged 33, was among the eight Canadians who tragically lost their lives during the October 7, 2023, assaults in Israel orchestrated by Hamas, a group condemned by Canada as a terrorist organization.
According to Jacqui Rivers Vital, her daughter was seeking refuge in the secure room of their residence on Kibbutz Holit, a communal agricultural community in southwest Israel, when Hamas insurgents forcibly entered their sanctuary and launched a violent attack.
During the harrowing ordeal, Vital-Kaploun’s two sons, one just six months old and the other three years and nine months old, were with her, as recounted by Rivers Vital.
Despite having access to an M16 rifle due to her husband’s involvement in a security detail, Vital-Kaploun found herself outnumbered and lacking sufficient ammunition, Rivers Vital added.
“She utilized every resource available to her,” she shared with CBC Radio’s host of Ottawa Morning, Rebecca Zandbergen.
Jacqui Rivers Vital from Ottawa shares the story of her daughter, Adi Vital-Kaploun, who protected her sons from Hamas militants on October 7, 2023.
‘Period of Uncertainty’
The Jewish Federation of Ottawa, representing Vital-Kaploun’s family, confirmed her demise a week following the October 7 attacks.
Rivers Vital, residing in Israel but present in Ottawa during the assaults, spoke with CBC earlier this week.
Returning to Canada for a fundraiser supporting the kibbutz, she emphasized her desire for her daughter to be remembered not as a statistic but as an individual with much to offer.
“She was a person. She had a future,” she expressed.
During the attacks, Rivers Vital received a “red alert” notification on an Israeli mobile app, prompting her to contact her husband, who was hiding in Vital-Kaploun’s guesthouse in Israel, she noted.
“We exchanged only two voicemails. I was left in the dark,” she remarked about the events surrounding Vital-Kaploun.
Images on television depicted militants in an area recognized by Rivers Vital as Vital-Kaploun’s kibbutz. However, it wasn’t until three days later that she received confirmation of her daughter’s passing.
“Three days of uncertainty,” she reflected.
“All I could think about was her background in Israeli intelligence, and what implications that might have,” she added.
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