Photo by
Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS-IL on 2 March, 2026
Nine Victims Named in War’s Deadliest Single Missile Strike in Israel
Jerusalem, 2 March, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Israeli authorities released the names of nine people killed when an Iranian ballistic missile struck a residential neighborhood in the central city of Beit Shemesh, in what officials described as the deadliest single missile strike inside Israel since the outbreak of the current conflict with Iran.
The attack brought the death toll in Israel to 11 since the war began on Saturday.
The victims identified were Gabriel Baruch Revach, 16; Oren Katz; Sara Elimelech and her daughter, Ronit; and Bruria Cohen along with her son, Yossi. The last names released were siblings Yaakov, Sara and Abigail Biton, ages 13-16.
President Isaac Herzog visited victims at Jerusalem’s Hadassah-Ein Kerem Medical Center and the scene of the destruction in Beit Shemesh.
“All night, the teams of the mayor were gathering their remains and pieces. We pray for the victims, and we pray with the families, and we hope that they will find comfort,” Herzog said.
“We are in the middle of a very important stage in history. This stage will determine the direction of the Middle East. There is a unique opportunity to change the trajectory. *Rather than endless terror and havoc created by the empire of evil from Tehran, there will be change that will offer hope and peace to a coalition of nations, which has emerged above ground and is fighting against the empire of evil,” the President added.
Monday was also the thirteenth birthday of Yossi Cohen’s son, meaning his bar mitzvah and his father’s funeral were on the same day.
Yossi’s widow, Pnina, described the tragedy to Herzog.
“When the alarm sounded, we were in the synagogue, and we immediately ran to the shelter. We were sitting there and suddenly it happened. My little son was next to me and was injured. I was also injured in the leg and underwent surgery. I was right under the hole that opened up, and I have no explanation for how we weren’t hurt more seriously. We had a great miracle. The children and I got out alive,”she said.
“But unfortunately my husband and my mother-in-law, who was sitting next to me, were murdered. Today my son is turning 13, and he was supposed to have a bar mitzvah. In this place we are burying my husband and my mother-in-law. And amidst all the pain, I feel that there was a great guard over us.”
Also killed were Sara Elimelech and her 45-year-old daughter, Ronit. The latter was a volunteer medic with the United Hatzalah emergency organization. Ronit had been visiting her parents with her three children when sirens sounded, prompting the family to enter the public shelter beneath the synagogue. Two of her children were pulled alive from the debris and hospitalized with light to moderate injuries. A third child was unharmed, and Sara Elimelech’s husband was also rescued.
“Ronit joined United Hatzalah after her young son asked her to volunteer as his birthday gift,” said Eli Beer, the organization’s president. “I met them personally, and they hold a very special place in our hearts. Itamar was so proud of his mother.”
Oren Katz, another victim identified by the Beit Shemesh municipality, is survived by his wife, children, and a brother. Sixteen-year-old Gabriel Baruch Revach was also killed in the strike. Local media reports said his father had been involved in fundraising for the synagogue that was destroyed.
According to emergency services and security officials, the missile scored a direct hit on a synagogue, causing it to collapse and heavily damaging a public bomb shelter located beneath the building, as well as nearby homes. Forty-eight people were injured in the attack, including three in serious condition and three moderately wounded. The remaining victims suffered light injuries and were evacuated to hospitals in Jerusalem and central Israel.
“This was a direct impact by a heavy ballistic missile,” a senior defense official said. “Air defense systems were activated, but the interceptor apparently failed. The incident is under investigation by the Israeli Air Force.”
Late Saturday night, a 32-year-old Filipino caregiver, Mary Anne Velasquez de Vera, was killed when a missile directly struck a building in Tel Aviv. De Vera was helping her ward make her way to a shelter. The Home Front Command said that missile, too, was not intercepted.
On Sunday, a 60-year-old woman on her way to a shelter suffered severe shortness of breath before dying.
