An Israeli missile strike that demolished a synagogue in Beit Shemesh on Sunday killed nine people, including three children from one family, according to Israeli rescue services and interviews with survivors. Tamar Biton said she was in the kitchen when the blast hit her home, shattering windows and collapsing the ceiling. She said she found fire and destruction and then searched for any sign that her children might have survived underneath rubble.
Biton said she held on to the expectation that the children could still be rescued. She later learned that was not to be the case, with the identification of three of her four children taking 24 hours, according to the family’s account and the Associated Press report. The three identified children were Yaakov, about to celebrate his 17th birthday, Avigail, 15, and Sarah, 13.
The Associated Press reported that Israel’s rescue services said the attack hospitalized 65 people, including two seriously wounded. In addition to the children Biton lost, other families in Beit Shemesh were also struck by deaths and injuries tied to the same strike, including the volunteer paramedic Ronit Elimelech, 45, and her mother, Sara Elimelech, the report said. Penina Cohen lost her husband, Yosef, and her mother-in-law, Buria, according to the Associated Press.
In Tamar Biton’s account, alarms warned of an incoming missile attack Sunday afternoon, but her husband, Yitzhak Biton, said he stayed in the house while the children moved toward the shelter under the synagogue, following Israel’s guidelines for civilians. The family said Yaakov was found inside the shelter, but Tamar said it was unclear whether Avigail and Sarah made it in time as the impact flattened the synagogue over the shelter and homes on surrounding streets.
As hope faded and the search continued, Biton said she changed her prayers. She said, “I said to my husband, ‘Please let something be left of them — or do you think it’s just ash and that’s why they can’t identify them?’” She also said both she and her husband have kept their faith as they received visitors and mourned.
Yitzhak Biton described trying to search for his children even as he feared what he might find. He said, “They started taking out bodies, and I kept saying, ‘Where are my children? Where are my children?’ When they came and asked for a DNA sample, I knew the answer,” according to the Associated Press report. The account said the couple continued speaking about Yaakov’s sincerity and about the children’s acts of kindness, while also turning to mourning rituals and community support.
The Associated Press reported that Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Cohen in the hospital, where the family described planned life events that were interrupted by the strike. Herzog’s visit to other families and the continued hospital stays for survivors reflected the spread of grief across the community, the report said.
The Biton family marked the Jewish week of mourning while living temporarily at a Jerusalem hotel after their house was destroyed, the Associated Press said. Tamar and Yitzhak laid the children to rest at Mount of Olives cemetery, one of the holiest places Jews can be buried, according to the report, and Yitzhak said he hoped to open a Jewish seminary in honor of his children.
In recent days, the AP reported that the Israel-Iran conflict has escalated after starting Saturday with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. The Associated Press said the fighting has affected an additional 14 countries across the Middle East and beyond, with at least 1,230 people killed in Iran and more than 100 in Lebanon, as reported in the wire account.
Tamar Biton said her faith has remained with her through daily work and repeated practice. She said, “Faith isn’t built in a day,” and “Faith is a gift from God, and faith is what gives you the ability to stand in front of these challenges, these experiences, in front of these waves.”