A week after an Iranian missile fatally struck a building in Petah Tikva, it was revealed that Holocaust survivor Ivette Shmilovitz, 95, was one of the four people killed in the barrage. She is survived by three granddaughters and four great-grandchildren. Shmilovitz will be laid to rest on Tuesday at noon at the Segula Cemetery.
Petah Tikva Mayor Rami Greenberg said in a statement: "On behalf of the city's residents, I send a big hug to the family, and strengthen them at this difficult time. The Petah Tikva Municipality will accompany the family and assist as necessary, as it does with other families who lost their loved ones in the severe damage."
The mayor added, "We bow our heads and mourn the murder of four of the city's residents who were killed following the missile attack from Iran. Dear beloved people, whose only sin was wanting to live a peaceful and safe life. May their memory be blessed."
Shmilovitz participated in the "Good Hands" project of the Holocaust Survivors' Rights Authority. Referring to the deaths of Shmilovitz and Holocaust survivor Bella Ashkenazi of Bat Yam, who was also killed by an Iranian missile strike, the Authority said in a statement that "the life journey of those who survived the horrors of the Holocaust was cruelly cut short, but their message as those who rose from the ashes and built their home and people, lives on among us."
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"In their death, they command us to walk the paths of hope and resurrection, and this is how we will remember them, as women who illuminated their surroundings," the Holocaust Survivors' Rights Authority also said, adding: "The Authority's employees are at the disposal of the family members of Ivette and Bella. May their souls be wrapped in the bundle of life."
The Iranian missile strike in Petah Tikva also killed Daisy Yitzhaki and the Yaakov and Desi Bello. An initial investigation by the Home Front Command into the ballistic missile impact revealed that it struck directly at the wall between two reinforced security rooms (Mamad) in a residential building—a direct hit by such a particularly heavy missile left no chance for the protective infrastructure to prevent casualties.
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Iranian missile strikes apartment building in Petah Tikvah
(Photo: Amir Levy/Getty Images)
Hundreds of residents of the neighborhood where the missile fell were evacuated from their homes. The IDF said that the standard for anti-aircraft missiles states that the purpose of anti-aircraft missiles against missiles of the type fired from Iran is to absorb the impact, and therefore, a direct hit breaks it. However, the army emphasizes that anti-aircraft missiles are still the main and safest lifesaver.
Hundreds of residents from the neighborhood where the missile struck were evacuated from their homes. The IDF stated that the standard for reinforced security rooms (Mamad) is designed primarily to absorb blast waves from missiles like those fired from Iran; therefore, a direct hit can breach them. Nonetheless, the military emphasized that the Mamad remains the primary and safest life-saving shelter.