Yaakov and Dassi Belu were two of the four people killed Monday when an Iranian ballistic missile struck between two reinforced safe rooms in a residential building in Petah Tikva. Their son, Ofir, wrote, “With deep sorrow we announce the murder of our beloved parents, Yaakov and Dassi Belu, by a direct missile hit on their home. Funeral details will be announced later.”
According to an initial investigation by the IDF’s Home Front Command, the heavy missile struck the wall separating two safe rooms in the building, leaving no chance for survival despite the reinforced structure.
City officials said hundreds of residents in the neighborhood were evacuated. The IDF explained that safe rooms are built to absorb shockwaves and shrapnel from missiles, not direct hits from long-range ballistic projectiles like those fired from Iran. Nonetheless, the military stressed that safe rooms remain the safest and most effective form of protection for civilians.
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The Home Front Command reiterated that while direct hits are extremely rare, safe rooms are designed to withstand the far more common threats of fragments and blast waves. In this case, residents in adjacent safe rooms—on floors above and below the impact site—were unharmed.
Footage of the missile hit in Petah Tikva
(Video: Lian Katav)
“The impact in Petah Tikva was an extraordinary breach of protective standards,” a Home Front Command spokesperson said. “The priority should always be to enter a standard protected space. If that’s not available, a stairwell is preferable.”
The IDF emphasized that while air defense systems cannot provide absolute protection, they are calibrated to prioritize threats aimed at population centers and strategic sites.