Rachel Shabo and three of her children were buried today in heartrending funeral ceremonies in their hometown of Itamar. Thousands of people were in attendance, many of them weeping and sobbing at the sight of the four bodies lying side by side following their cruel murder by an Arab terrorist last night, and at the sight of the mourning father, Boaz, and his four remaining children.
Neighbor Yossi Tuito, who heads the local emergency alert team, attempted to come to the family\'s aid, and was killed as well. He leaves a wife and five children, including a 5-month-old, and was buried after the Shabo funeral. He was a first-grade teacher and worked with troubled youth.
Boaz Shabo and his oldest son Yariv stood outside the remains of their house late last night, crying and embracing in face of the tragedy that had befallen them. The calamity 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. 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.
Their wife/mother Rachel, 40, and three of her seven children - Neriah, 15, Tzvikah, 12 and Avishai, 5 - were murdered. Two other children in the family, Aviyah and Asah\'el - were wounded, one of them seriously. Neriah was a student in the Hitzim Yeshiva High School, which lost three students three weeks ago in a terrorist infiltration, as well as another student two days ago in the French Hill attack.
One part of the roof of the family 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…\" Many of the speakers at the funeral, including Rabbi Moti Elon, Rabbi Natan Chai, and the deceased mother\'s brother Tzvi Halamish, spoke of Rachel\'s kindness and her willingness to help anyone and everyone: \"How could such terrible people come in and just start shooting people like that? And little 5-year-old Avishai, as frail as a bird, who could be blown over with a wisp of wind - how could someone come along and kill someone like him?…\"
Neighbor Yossi Tuito, who heads the local emergency alert team, attempted to come to the family\'s aid, and was killed as well. He leaves a wife and five children, including a 5-month-old, and was buried after the Shabo funeral. He was a first-grade teacher and worked with troubled youth.
Boaz Shabo and his oldest son Yariv stood outside the remains of their house late last night, crying and embracing in face of the tragedy that had befallen them. The calamity 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. 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.
Their wife/mother Rachel, 40, and three of her seven children - Neriah, 15, Tzvikah, 12 and Avishai, 5 - were murdered. Two other children in the family, Aviyah and Asah\'el - were wounded, one of them seriously. Neriah was a student in the Hitzim Yeshiva High School, which lost three students three weeks ago in a terrorist infiltration, as well as another student two days ago in the French Hill attack.
One part of the roof of the family 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…\" Many of the speakers at the funeral, including Rabbi Moti Elon, Rabbi Natan Chai, and the deceased mother\'s brother Tzvi Halamish, spoke of Rachel\'s kindness and her willingness to help anyone and everyone: \"How could such terrible people come in and just start shooting people like that? And little 5-year-old Avishai, as frail as a bird, who could be blown over with a wisp of wind - how could someone come along and kill someone like him?…\"