Returned to Akko, killed by rockets
Eight civilians killed by rocket barrages Thursday afternoon in Akko, Ma'alot -Tarshiha
Hardest day yet: The Zarivi family, from Akko, spent the past week staying in Hadera. A day after returning home, the father – Shimon, 44 – and daughter – Mazal (Mazi), 15, were killed. They went outside following the first barrage of rockets and were killed by the second barrage. West of Akko, three residents of Ma'alot Tarshiha - Muhammad Faour, 17, Sinati Sinati, 21, and Amir Naeem, 18 – tried to flee from a barrage of rockets, and failed.
Shimon and his daughter stood just outside their home when a rocket landed meters from them, causing fatal injuries. Shimon's son, Raz, ran to help the two and sustained light injuries himself. Shimon's brother, Mordechai, told of how he had fought in the Lebanon war and had escaped death several times, including once when his jeep flipped over. "In the end, he was killed by a rocket, a meter from home." In the past few days, several rockets had fallen around the family's house, causing vast damages.
Mordechai said that his niece, Mazi was a beautiful girl, street smart and full of life. Israel Roitenberg, Mazi's high school counselor for the past two years, said that she was a good student and was considered the 'social center' among her classmates - always ready to help and never missing a party.
In the past two years, Mazi's class had adopted the hospital in Nahariya as a class project and would visit patients before holidays. "She was one of the most active members in the project and in other projects. She always helped everyone. She was just a good girl," Roitenberg said.
Shimon leaves behind his parents, three brothers, and two sisters, as well as his wife, Linda, and his 17 year old son, Raz.
Three friends killed together
Muhammad Faour, 17, from Tarshiha, was killed with two friends from the same town, Sinati Sinati (21) and Amir Naeem (18). "They were afraid he'd be killed on his motorcycle. In the end, he was killed from a rocket," said cousin Azar Faour. The town, known as a bastion of Arab-Jewish coexistence, filled with mourners who visited the bereaved families.
Muhammad was supposed to begin his senior year, with a focus in biology, at the local high school. He leaves behind his parents, Ahmed and Oila, and five siblings. His cousin told Ynet: "Muhammad was the man of the family, the oldest of six children, someone for them to look up to. I'm supposed to get married in a year and he promised that he would drive me to the wedding." His cousin recalled a family argument resulting from Muhammad's desire to get a motorcycle license. In the end, it was a rocket that killed him.
Muhammad took advantage of the summer vacation to spend time with his friends every day. Thursday afternoon, he left his house to spend time with Sinati and Amir. The three drove in Sinati's vehicle and had just left his family's business when they heard the sound of a falling rocket, which landed a few hundreds of meters from them. They left the car and ran towards a nearby field, where, a few seconds later, another rocket hit them directly.
Azar recounts: "I heard the sirens and, afterwards, several hits in Ma'alot and Tarshiha. I went outside and walked towards the smoke, like the others, which was near Ein Yekev. A resident from Tarshiha told me that my neighbor, Shnati, had been killed. A few moments later, he came up to me and told me that my cousin had also been killed."
Sinati Sinati finished his studies at the local high school and went to work in his family's coal business. Only one home separates the Shnati residence from the Faor residence, and the families were close friends. Sinati is remembered as a dominant and confident young man, who liked driving in his car and who helped anyone who needed assistance. He leaves behind parents, Assad and Wataf, four brothers and a sister.
Amir Naeem lived with his parents in a Bedouin neighborhood of Tarshiha. He leaves behind parents, eight brothers and six sisters. A family member described him as "an ambitious boy, with many friends. He took advantage of the summer to have fun, but the recent days had been hard."
"The limited number of shelters in Tarshiha makes it difficult to cope with the situation. Before, we didn't really pay attention to the sirens, but after the barrages of the past couple of days, everyone quickly looks for shelters and checks to make sure that their family members are ok. In the case of Amir and his friends, it didn't help. Their fate to die was sent from above," he added.
Head of the Ma'alot-Tarshiha municipality, Micah Maiki, stated that the three friends will have a joint funeral, the families having agreed to this. The funeral will be coordinated with police and military forces, out of fear of additional rocket fire on the area. "They were good friends in life and they will be together also in death," Maiki said.
Ahiya Raved contributed to the report
