Tova was born on March 15, 1930 in Petah Tikva, the second daughter of David (from Turkey) and Kokhava (born in the Land of Israel). They had a traditional house in Kfar Saba. The father worked in the orchards of the Sharon and in the maintenance department of the Kfar Saba Municipality. Only she, among five girls and a boy, was active in the underground, and this was known in her home. She later told her children that she joined at age fifteen. She distributed propaganda, put up posters and participated in daring operations, such as bombing roads used by the British, including the train tracks near Binyamina.

Her Lehi comrades knew of her courage, her temperament and her strong will to do whatever she was ordered to accomplish. Despite the secrecy of their activities, she and her comrades were pursued by local Hagana members and forced to hide. She herself was wounded after they beat her and put her in a freezer. She was stuck there until her friends found her.

She joined the mass enlistment to the IDF at Sheikh Munis. She was assigned to the commando Battalion 89, under the command of Blond Dov, of the 8^th Brigade, under the command of Yitzhak Sadeh. She was a combat medic as they fought throughout the south, in Operation Danny — at Lod and Ramleh, Beit Guvrin, Kfar Manda, Iraq al-Menashiya, Iraq Suwaydan, Yehud and Auja el-Hafir.

Before Lod was captured, she treated a former Lehi member in Battalion 82 by the name of Raphael (Gad). They married on June 18,1952. The army trained them in agriculture at Afikim, and together with their friends they established Kibbutz Neve Yair, where they stayed for half-a-year. Then they returned to military service. They lived in Kfar Saba until the settlement of Neve Yair was established. Despite Tova’s experience, she could not find work. In 1981, they realized their dream and built their house in Binyamina.

In addition to maintaining their home and educating their children, Tova enjoyed painted and sculpting. Over the years, she crafted hundreds of works of art in watercolor, oil paint and other materials. Her works were exhibited in numerous places, and they were praised by experts. Her husband had a machining workshop. They had three sons, Yossi, Menahem and Haggai, and a daughter, Miri. They all established families in Israel, giving them eleven grandchildren.

In March 1998, Tova experienced a serious neurological incident, and she was blinded in both eyes due to complications of glaucoma. Still, she survived, despite the challenges of her new reality. Tova and Raphael moved to Kfar Saba to be near their sons and daughter. Her husband Raphael died on June 3,2001.