The death toll of Americans killed when Hamas terrorists stormed Israeli communities on Saturday has now risen to 27.
“I’ll start with the saddest of news. We can now update the number of Americans that we know have been killed to 27, and the number of unaccounted for stands today at 14. We’re obviously doing everything we can to support and inform the families,” National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said Thursday in a video posted to on social media.
“Now, sadly, five more families have now gotten the worst possible news that any family can conceive of getting. And we’re going to stay in touch with them as appropriate,” he said.
“Same goes for those family members of those who are unaccounted for. And by ‘unaccounted for,’ we mean that. We don’t know where they are. They don’t know where they are,” he said.
This is a heartbreaking account of the heroic sacrifice made by Deborah and Shlomi Matias to protect their teenage son from Hamas gunfire. 💔 Their selflessness in the face of danger is truly commendable. #GazaConflict #Israel #Hamas 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/0j1SeCc0rB
— TGN (@Tgn8383) October 9, 2023
American Deborah Matias and her husband Shlomi Matias were killed while she was on the phone with her father, Ilan Troen said, according to CNN.
“We were on the phone with Deborah as she was killed,” Troen said.
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“We were on the phone the entire day with our grandson, Rotem, as he lay first under her body, and then found a place to escape under a blanket in a laundry,” Troen said.
“The brunt of the shot was borne by his mother. The terrorists who came, they had explosives and blew up the front door to their house and then blew out the front door to their so-called safe room.”
Rotem, 16, will recover from being shot in the stomach, his grandfather said.
Roey Weiser, 21, an Israeli-American soldier who saved the lives of 12 of his comrades after being attacked by terrorists at his base on Saturday pic.twitter.com/1WSpbEXHxz
— News News News (@NewsNew97351204) October 11, 2023
Roey Weiser, 21, an American-Israeli serving with the Israeli Army, was at the Kerem Shalom border crossing and died there, Naomi Feifer-Weiser, his mother, said.
“He died how he lived, by putting others first, and when his base was overrun by terrorists, he went on his own to divert their attention allowing others to escape. Because of his bravery, at least 12 other soldiers are alive today,” she said.
“Roey lived his life to the fullest, almost always with a smile on his face,” she said. “He was always looking for ways to help those around him, and before he was conscripted, he was a volunteer firefighter who was always the first to jump into action when needed.”
Dr. Hayim Katsman, 32, was found dead in his apartment. His mother, Hannah Katsman, said he received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies in 2021: https://t.co/mQFt3SW3lM
— KOMO News (@komonews) October 9, 2023
Hayim Katsman, 32, had received his doctorate from the University of Washington in 2021 but chose to live in Israel to devote his life to making peace for Israelis and Palestinians, according to The Washington Post.
His dissertation was dedicated to “all life forms that exist between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.”
Katsman hid in a closet with a neighbor, Avital Alajem, when terrorists hit his kibbutz. He was standing closest to the door and took the bullets that were fired at the hiding place.
“He was murdered,” Alajem said. “I was saved.”
