Israeli family who buried 3 of their children after missile attack clings to faith

Tamar Biton was in her kitchen when an explosion tore through her home in Beit Shemesh, central Israel, shattering windows and collapsing ceilings with unprecedented force. Looking out from what remained of her window, she witnessed widespread fire and destruction.

“I couldn’t find my kids, but I was sure they would be able to rescue them from underneath the rubble,” she recalled.

That hope was crushed when, after 24 hours, authorities identified the bodies of three of her four children: Yaakov, who was about to celebrate his 17th birthday that evening; Avigail, 15; and Sarah, 13.

The three siblings were among nine people killed Sunday when an Iranian missile strike destroyed a synagogue and nearby homes in Beit Shemesh. Israeli rescue services reported that 65 people were hospitalized following the attack, with two in serious condition.

This incident marks the deadliest attack on Israeli soil since the current conflict began the previous Saturday with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. The escalating hostilities have now affected 14 countries across the Middle East and beyond. The human toll has been devastating, with at least 1,230 people killed in Iran and more than 100 in Lebanon.

Tamar, her husband Yitzhak, and their surviving daughter, 4-year-old Rachel, are now observing the Jewish week of mourning in a Jerusalem hotel where they were relocated after their home was destroyed.

As visitors gather around the grieving family, Tamar shares stories about her lost children. She describes Yaakov as a natural-born leader and orator who studied at his father’s Jewish seminary and was known for bringing friends closer to Jewish observance. Avigail was remembered as smart, sensitive, and thoughtful, while Sarah was characterized as energetic and always helping around the house and community.

When Tamar speaks of her children, her face brightens momentarily before the crushing reality returns. All three were buried Monday night at Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives cemetery, one of Judaism’s most sacred burial grounds.

Yitzhak had been teaching a class in Jewish texts on the morning of the attack, which his son Yaakov attended along with his best friend, 16-year-old Gavriel Ravach. Both boys perished in the missile strike.

The Bitons were not the only family to suffer multiple losses. Volunteer paramedic Ronit Elimelech, 45, and her mother, Sara Elimelech, were both killed. In another family tragedy, Penina Cohen lost both her husband Yosef and mother-in-law Buria. Her son, who was supposed to celebrate his bar mitzvah the day after the attack, instead attended the funeral of his father and grandmother, as Cohen later told Israeli President Isaac Herzog during his hospital visit.

According to Yitzhak, when warning sirens blared that Sunday afternoon, he decided to remain in the house while Yaakov, Avigail, and Sarah headed toward the shelter beneath the synagogue, following Israel’s civilian safety guidelines. While Yaakov’s body was found inside the shelter, it remains unclear whether his sisters managed to reach it in time. The missile’s impact completely flattened the synagogue above the shelter and demolished homes across several surrounding streets.

As hope for her children’s survival diminished, Tamar’s prayers changed. “I said to my husband, ‘Please let something be left of them — or do you think it’s just ash and that’s why they can’t identify them?'” she recounted Thursday.

Yitzhak described his desperate search for his children despite fearing what he might find. “They started taking out bodies, and I kept saying, ‘Where are my children? Where are my children?’ When they came and asked for a DNA sample, I knew the answer,” he said.

Despite their immense grief, both parents maintain their religious faith. They share with visitors stories of Yaakov’s commitment to religious observance by avoiding forbidden digital devices and their daughters’ acts of kindness.

Yitzhak now hopes to establish a Jewish seminary honoring his children’s memory, aiming to foster unity among Israeli youth and address divisive issues like baseless hatred and negativity.

“They sanctified God’s name with their life, and also after their death, they continue sanctifying his name,” Yitzhak said, tears streaming down his face.

Tamar attributes her enduring faith to daily spiritual practice. “Faith isn’t built in a day,” she explained. “Faith is a gift from God, and faith is what gives you the ability to stand in front of these challenges, these experiences, in front of these waves.”