The Shomron town of Itamar is still reeling from the terrorist tragedy it suffered on Thursday night. Rachel Shabo and three of her children were murdered when a terrorist burst into their home and started shooting in all directions. A neighbor who attempted to come to their aid, Yossi Tuito, was killed as well; he left a wife and five children. Two of the four surviving Shabo children were wounded in the attack. One of them, Asah\'el, has had his right leg amputated, while his sister Aviyah is listed in moderate-to-serious condition.
Ilan Halamish, a brother of the slain Rachel, spoke with Arutz-7\'s Ariel Kahane this morning from his mother\'s home in Ginot Shomron where he and the other family members are sitting shiva (the seven-day ritual mourning period). He explained that even choosing a place to sit shiva was a problem: \"We couldn\'t sit in the Shabo home in Itamar, because only the living room and kitchen were left relatively unharmed from the fire [that resulted when the one of the bullets fired during the shootout hit a gas canister] - and even there the walls are full of bullet holes and pieces... We\'re also running between the two hospitals, Tel HaShomer and Schneider, where the two children are; Schneider promised that they would transfer Aviyah to Tel HaShomer, which would make it easier...\"
Asked if his young nephew Asah\'el had yet been informed of the death of his mother and three siblings, Ilan said, \"He knows part of the story already - and it\'s chilling to explain how. He remembers sitting with his little brother Avishai watching television, and the terrorist entered and started shooting, but the bullets missed him. He hid behind a couch, and waited for the soldiers to come. He made believe he was dead. He says, \'I know that Avishai died, because I heard him stop crying.\' He also asked if his mother was dead, because he heard the soldiers yelling that there were some dead in the house... We plan to tell him the whole story by the end of today.\" He said that Boaz, the father, \"practically fell apart in front of our eyes the first few hours, and we realized that we had to be strong and help him.... This is the only way...\" Rabbi Moshe Goldschmidt of Itamar later told Arutz-7\'s Yosef Zalmanson that by last night, Boaz was already discussing ways of helping fortify security in Itamar to prevent further terrorist infiltrations.
Rabbi Goldschmidt said this morning that at least 200 e-mail messages of support for the family and the community had been received. \"Just going over them all will be a big job,\" he said, \"but I hope to print out some of them and bring them to the Shabo family when I pay them a condolence visit this evening.\"
Ilan Halamish, a brother of the slain Rachel, spoke with Arutz-7\'s Ariel Kahane this morning from his mother\'s home in Ginot Shomron where he and the other family members are sitting shiva (the seven-day ritual mourning period). He explained that even choosing a place to sit shiva was a problem: \"We couldn\'t sit in the Shabo home in Itamar, because only the living room and kitchen were left relatively unharmed from the fire [that resulted when the one of the bullets fired during the shootout hit a gas canister] - and even there the walls are full of bullet holes and pieces... We\'re also running between the two hospitals, Tel HaShomer and Schneider, where the two children are; Schneider promised that they would transfer Aviyah to Tel HaShomer, which would make it easier...\"
Asked if his young nephew Asah\'el had yet been informed of the death of his mother and three siblings, Ilan said, \"He knows part of the story already - and it\'s chilling to explain how. He remembers sitting with his little brother Avishai watching television, and the terrorist entered and started shooting, but the bullets missed him. He hid behind a couch, and waited for the soldiers to come. He made believe he was dead. He says, \'I know that Avishai died, because I heard him stop crying.\' He also asked if his mother was dead, because he heard the soldiers yelling that there were some dead in the house... We plan to tell him the whole story by the end of today.\" He said that Boaz, the father, \"practically fell apart in front of our eyes the first few hours, and we realized that we had to be strong and help him.... This is the only way...\" Rabbi Moshe Goldschmidt of Itamar later told Arutz-7\'s Yosef Zalmanson that by last night, Boaz was already discussing ways of helping fortify security in Itamar to prevent further terrorist infiltrations.
Rabbi Goldschmidt said this morning that at least 200 e-mail messages of support for the family and the community had been received. \"Just going over them all will be a big job,\" he said, \"but I hope to print out some of them and bring them to the Shabo family when I pay them a condolence visit this evening.\"