Doron, a 31-year-old veterinary nurse, was abducted from her apartment in Kibbutz Kfar Aza – near Gaza’s north-western border – when Hamas attacked.
The community, one of many Israeli villages along the border, was heavily targeted by armed militants during the 7 October attacks.
Israeli officials said Hamas burned homes and killed civilians, including whole families, as well as taking hostages.
When the assault began, Doron contacted her family and friends via WhatsApp to say she was hiding under the bed as militants advanced, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.
In her last voice message, she was heard screaming “they’ve caught me” as shouting and gunfire sounded in the background.
Doron’s family received no information about her whereabouts for nearly four months.
In May last year, her sister, Yamit Ashkenazi, wrote an emotional letter through the missing families forum, calling her “my sunshine”.
“I wish you could feel the energy we send to you,” it read.
And in an earlier post, Doron was described as “the glue that connects all her friends, sensitive and funny, always smiling and the first to offer help”.
She studied theatre and film in school, and developed a love for animals that led to her becoming a veterinary nurse.
Speaking to the BBC in November 2023, Doron’s sister Yamit spoke of a new tattoo. It read: “As the sun we will rise again”, but had some of the sun’s rays missing.
“They will be added when she is home,” she added.
