Snowstorm damage in Jerusalem (file)
Snowstorm damage in Jerusalem (file)Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90

The fierce winter storm battering Israel has apparently claimed its first victim. On Wednesday afternoon, a thirteen year-old boy was killed when the car he was riding in hit a bus near Tzur Hadassah, south of Jerusalem. Also injured in the accident were passengers in a third vehicle, a 52 year old man and a 16 year old teen. Both were in fair condition in a Jerusalem hospital.

A police spokesperson said that the reason for the accident was still being investigated, but it was almost certainly connected to the high winds and rain that were falling in the area when the incident occurred.

Meanwhile, stories of damage to buildings, homes, and roads due to the weather were piling up. Students in Kiryat Shemona in northern Israel found that an auditorium they were set to use was flooded, and an electrical system controlling the building's heating system was also badly damaged. In Holon, the roof of a shopping center partially collapsed, damaging some cars that had been parked in the center's lot. Three people were treated in a local hospital for light injuries sustained in that incident.

In Maale Adumim outside Jerusalem, the roof of a kindergarten fell in. No one was injured - fortunately, school had been cancelled, due to the storm.