Rachel Shabo and three of her children are being buried at this hour in heartrending funeral ceremonies in their hometown of Itamar. Over 1,000 people are in attendance, many of them weeping and sobbing at the sight of the four bodies lying side by side, remembering the cruel way in which they met their end, and pondering the future of the father, Boaz, and his four remaining children.
Boaz and his oldest son Yariv stood outside the remains of their house late last night, crying and embracing, refusing to accept the unspeakable tragedy that has befallen them. Their wife/mother Rachel, 40, and three of her seven children - Neriah, 15, Tzvikah, 12 and Avishai, 5 - were murdered when a rifle-brandishing terrorist ran into their house and started killing. Two other children in the family were wounded, including one seriously. Neriah was a student in the Hitzim Yeshiva High School, which lost three students three weeks ago in a terrorist infiltration, and yet another student in Wednesday\'s French Hill attack. Neighbor Yossi Tuito, who heads the local emergency alert team, came to their aid and was killed as well. He leaves a wife and five children, including a 5-month-old, and will be buried after the Shabo dead.
The tragedy began around 9 PM last night when the terrorist infiltrated the town and started shooting in all directions. No one was immediately hurt, and he then ran to the Shabo family house, which he entered and began his murderous spree. Two kids were hurt, though they hid themselves and were saved from further shooting. Soldiers and Border Guard police arrived and encircled the house, and the exchange of fire continued. Some soldiers bravely entered the house, forcing the terrorist upstairs while they rescued the children inside. The house caught fire when one bullet hit a gas balloon, and much of the house was burnt. Two policemen were hurt in the exchange of fire, one moderately. At one point, the terrorist jumped from the second floor, and was shot and killed.
One part of the roof of the house was blown off by the grenades, and the other part of the roof was burnt by the fire. \"The walls are all charred,\" related Rabbi Moshe Goldschmidt, a teacher in the Hitzim Yeshiva. \"I don\'t think there\'s anything left for the survivors to take out…\"
Boaz and his oldest son Yariv stood outside the remains of their house late last night, crying and embracing, refusing to accept the unspeakable tragedy that has befallen them. Their wife/mother Rachel, 40, and three of her seven children - Neriah, 15, Tzvikah, 12 and Avishai, 5 - were murdered when a rifle-brandishing terrorist ran into their house and started killing. Two other children in the family were wounded, including one seriously. Neriah was a student in the Hitzim Yeshiva High School, which lost three students three weeks ago in a terrorist infiltration, and yet another student in Wednesday\'s French Hill attack. Neighbor Yossi Tuito, who heads the local emergency alert team, came to their aid and was killed as well. He leaves a wife and five children, including a 5-month-old, and will be buried after the Shabo dead.
The tragedy began around 9 PM last night when the terrorist infiltrated the town and started shooting in all directions. No one was immediately hurt, and he then ran to the Shabo family house, which he entered and began his murderous spree. Two kids were hurt, though they hid themselves and were saved from further shooting. Soldiers and Border Guard police arrived and encircled the house, and the exchange of fire continued. Some soldiers bravely entered the house, forcing the terrorist upstairs while they rescued the children inside. The house caught fire when one bullet hit a gas balloon, and much of the house was burnt. Two policemen were hurt in the exchange of fire, one moderately. At one point, the terrorist jumped from the second floor, and was shot and killed.
One part of the roof of the house was blown off by the grenades, and the other part of the roof was burnt by the fire. \"The walls are all charred,\" related Rabbi Moshe Goldschmidt, a teacher in the Hitzim Yeshiva. \"I don\'t think there\'s anything left for the survivors to take out…\"