Orel Alazarov, the seven year old boy injured by a rocket on Thursday evening, remains in serious condition Sunday. Orel was hit by shrapnel in the head from a rocket which exploded near him after his mother took him out to travel by car.
Like many of Be’er Sheva’s schoolchildren on an extended Chanukah vacation due to his school’s closing since the Gaza war began three weeks ago, Orel was bored and was tired of beeing cooped up at home. Orel’s mother decided to take her son out for a ride in the car last Thursday afternoon. But then the air raid sirens in Be’er Sheva sounded, indicating that a rocket would explode in a matter of seconds.
Following Home Front procedures, Orel’s mother, Angela, stopped the car, and stepped out with Orel. A Grad rocket launched by Hamas terrorists exploded a few meters away from them.
A fragment from the rocket penetrated Orel’s skull. "She told me that after she lay down over the child she suddenly saw him bleeding. If they had continued driving nothing would have happened to them, but there was nowhere to hide," said Oren’s aunt, who rushed to the hospital after her sister told her what had transpired.
Orel’s mother works as a nurse in the operating room of Be’er Sheva’s Soroka Medical Center. After realizing that her son was injured, Angela picked him up and screamed, "My child is going to die!" She stopped a passing vehicle and rushed to her workplace, this time as a patient's mother.
Orel is currently in the Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva, still in critical condition. His Hebrew name for prayers is Orel ben (son of) Angela Yagut.
Rishon L’Tzion Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu has instructed Orel’s father to inspect the mezuzot of his home, and to donate charity towards the synagogue of the Soroka Medical Center.
Courtesy Shuvu Elementary School
“Schoolboy who loves to learn”
In peacetime, Orel was one of the 300 students who attend the Shuvu Elementary School in Be’er Sheva. Part of a network of 25 schools throughout Israel, Shuvu teaches both religious and secular studies at a high academic level. Orel, in second grade, has attended the nine-year-old Shuvu Be’er Sheva School since kindergarten. His family originates from the Caucasian mountain region, an area once part of the Soviet Union, which includes Azerbaijan and Georgia.
“The boy is very good, very educated, he honors the staff, loves to learn, and excels in all areas,” explains Orel’s principal, Rabbi Yehuda Weitman.
“When he was in first grade, he asked his mother to buy him tzitzit [ritual fringes]. Since then, he hasn’t missed a day wearing them,” Rabbi Weitman adds that although Orel’s family is non-observant, they are very accepting of his observance.
“We have a very strong bond with our teachers, to also calm them down, especially Oren’s class,” Rabbi Weitman says. Out of fear for their personal safety, the teachers and students remain home, staying in contact by phone. Other than a school outing in Jerusalem, Oren's classmates have not seen each other in school.
As per Home Front orders, Be’er Sheva schools are currently closed. “Although I don’t live in Be’er Sheva, I’m not afraid to come to school,” states Rabbi Weitman, who arrives daily at his empty school, getting ready for the day that he hopes will soon come for the school to reopen. The school’s name, Shuvu, means “return.” And he hopes that Orel will once again return.