3 Siblings Among 9 Killed in Iranian Missile Strike in Beit Shemesh

BEIT SHEMESH, Israel (VINnews) — Three young siblings were among nine people killed in an Iranian ballistic missile strike that hit a residential area of Beit Shemesh, authorities said Monday.

The victims were identified as Sara Biton, 13, Avigail Biton, 15, and Yaakov Biton, 16. Also killed were Bruria Gloria Cohen and her son Yosef (Yossi) Cohen; Sarah Elimelech and her daughter Ronit Elimelech; Oren Katz; and teenager Gabriel Baruch Revach.

According to preliminary findings, the missile, carrying an estimated 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) of explosives, struck a building around 2 p.m. Sunday. The impact hit a synagogue with an underground shelter accessible by two flights of stairs.

Officials said at least three people were killed inside the damaged shelter. Others died in the stairwell, at the entrance to the staircase and outside the building.

Funerals were held Monday for several of the victims. Oren Katz’s wife, Smadar, said he was killed after going upstairs to close the shelter door. “Your giving cost you your life yesterday,” she said in a eulogy. “You taught us what giving is.”

Emergency crews continued to assess the damage as investigators examined the strike, one of the deadliest in the city in recent years.