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Igor Pibenev, who fought on his own and killed 13 terrorists on Oct. 7, never knew that another child was on the way.
By Shula Rosen
A baby boy was born last week to the widow of a police officer who fought alone and killed 13 terrorists during the October 7, 2023, attacks before later dying by suicide, closing a circle of grief and continuity eight months after his death, Ynet reported.
Igor Pibenev, who fought on his own and killed 13 terrorists on Oct. 7, never knew that another child was on the way.
Chen Pibenev gave birth to her son, Adam, after discovering she was pregnant during the shiva mourning period for her husband, an Israel Police sergeant who took his own life in May 2025 following severe psychological distress linked to what he experienced on October 7. He was 31. The pregnancy had been conceived roughly two and a half weeks before his death.
Adam is the couple’s first son after three daughters. His circumcision ceremony was held on Wednesday, organized largely by friends.
In the days following the birth, Chen described the dissonance of adjusting to new motherhood alone. She said the delivery itself passed in a blur, marked by shock and disbelief, followed by a brief sense of emotional shelter.
Only later, she said, did the weight of single parenthood fully register, as daily routines took on new complexity without a partner to share them.
She said her son strongly resembles his father – a resemblance she initially feared but has since embraced. The baby, she said, has brought light into the home and energized his sisters, who are eager to help and stay close. “He fills the loneliness,” she told Ynet. “He doesn’t give me a chance to be by myself.”
Chen said she believes Igor would have been overjoyed by the birth, despite having resisted the idea of a fourth child before his death. She recalled him joking about exhaustion, adding that had he lived, he would have risen gladly at night and urged her to rest.
Speaking ahead of the brit milah (circumcision), Chen said the ceremony was emotionally taxing but also affirming, describing the support she has received as overwhelming in the best sense.
Asked what she would say to her husband now, she paused and then responded that she would try to calm him – before adding with dark humor: “You bastard, look what you did to me — I’m at the brit alone.” She then added: “What a shame that you’re not here. See what you’re missing.”
She said Adam will grow up knowing exactly who his father was through stories and memories shared by those who knew him.
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