An Israeli-American family whose kibbutz came under attack from Hamas on Saturday texted their relatives to say they were fine amid the onslaught – before sending harrowing messages describing their final moments.

‘They’re here. They’re burning us. We’re suffocating,’ wrote Johnny Siman Tov, 36.

He and his wife Tamar Kedem-Simian Tov, 35; their three children aged between two and five, and Johnny’s mother Carol Simian Tov, 70, were all killed on Saturday.

Johnny, his children Omer, aged two, and five-year-old twins Arbel and Shachar, were all American citizens, as was his mother. His wife’s nationality was unclear.   

The six lived in the Nir Oz kibbutz, near the Gaza Strip – a community of 400 people. Eighty died in Saturday’s attack.

As the Hamas terrorists advanced, Tamar Kedem-Simian Tov sent texts to friends in Australia saying they were safe.

Tamar Kedem-Siman Tov with her husband Johnny and their five-year-old daughters Shachar and Arbel, and their two-year-old son Omer. They were murdered on Saturday

Carol Simian Tov, 70, was killed on Saturday at the kibbutz Nir Oz where she lived with her family. Her son, his wife, and their three children were also killed

She wrote to her Sydney friends, Yishai and Mor Lacob, from the concrete bunker of her home at about 2.45pm on Saturday, saying: ‘Hi guys, we got into the shelter in our house, we’re all going okay.’

An hour later, the texts to Australia stopped.

Johnny Simian Tov texted his sister, Ranae Butler, who lives in Israel, and said: ‘They’re here. They’re burning us. We’re suffocating.’

Carol Simian Tov had fled to her own home with her dog Charlie as Hamas advanced.

She was shot dead in her own safe room. 

Two of Carol’s daughters and two of her sons survived the attack on the kibbutz, plus their father, Larry Butler.

One of the sons, Shachar Butler, who was head of security for the kibbutz, was shot in the attack but is recuperating. 

‘They barely put on their boots and pants and ran and fought in bravery,’ said Ranae Butler. 

‘We’re crying and hugging,’ she added. 

‘They’ve all been through hell.’ 

In Australia, the Lacobs started to panic and tried contacting everyone they knew in the village to find out what was going on, before they received the news that the Tov’s safe room had been breached. 

‘Our hearts are shattered,’ Yishai wrote on Facebook on Monday.

‘An entire family was killed by evil murderers who shot the children and parents simply because they were Jewish.

‘And this is just one story, among so many. It’s unbearable.’

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Nir Oz is a farming village with a population of about 400 and is two miles from Gaza.

Despite its proximity to a conflict zone, Mor told the Sydney Morning Herald it was considered a peaceful place to live and raise a family.

‘They wouldn’t have thought such a thing can happen,’ she said. 

Tamar was a social activist who had been campaigning to become the head of Eshkol Regional Council, in Israel’s southern district.

‘She was such a special woman,’ Mor told the publication.

‘She always cared about the poor people, always made sure that people less fortunate will have the same opportunities.

The family were hiding in a concrete bunker at their home in southern Israel, before it was breached. Tamar (left) uploaded this photo four days ago

Friends flooded Facebook with tributes to the young family (pictured)

‘She was a living example to these values.’

Just four days ago, the mother-of-three had been posting photos of her council campaign on Facebook.

‘Half-week summary post, because even Facebook can’t keep up with me this holiday,’ she wrote on Thursday, in a post translated from Hebrew to English.

‘The area speaks for itself – we want an attentive head of the council, who sees the residents – from young to old.’

She aimed to improve health, employment, safety and security across the region.

Her posts were flooded with messages of support on Thursday.

By Tuesday, they were overcome with tributes.

‘My heart is torn,’ one person wrote. 

Another said: ‘What a tragedy… Can’t believe that we are four days later.’

Pictured: Tamar and her husband Johnny, who were living in southern Israel when their village was attacked

The attacks began about 6.30am Israeli time on Saturday when thousands of Hamas rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel and as far as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

At the same time, hundreds of Palestinian militants paraglided across the heavily guarded frontier, while others stormed towns by boat or after blasting holes in the Gaza–Israel barrier.

They then went door to door gunning down innocent civilians and soldiers before kidnapping more then 100 Israelis and taking them into Gaza.