Early Sunday afternoon, a report was received at the ZAKA 1220 emergency hotline regarding a direct strike in a residential area of Beit Shemesh.
ZAKA volunteers from the Jerusalem District, including the Beit Shemesh team and additional teams from Jerusalem, were immediately dispatched to the scene and operated for long hours at a painful and complex site that claimed the lives of nine people.
Throughout the response, volunteers worked alongside the IDF Home Front Command, including the Casualty Department and the Military Rabbinate, Israel Police, and all emergency agencies, operating within the destroyed structures. Teams conducted thorough searches to rule out additional missing persons, while simultaneously ensuring the dignity of the deceased and carefully collecting findings at the scene.
Due to the nature of the incident, ZAKA’s Resilience Teams were also deployed, led by Department Head Vered Atzmon Mashulam, to provide support where needed.
Chaim Weingarten, ZAKA Deputy Director of Operations, stated:
“This was a large-scale incident spread across multiple points. Our teams operated simultaneously in several locations, conducting search and recovery efforts, clearing and collecting findings from within the rubble, and carrying out the orderly evacuation of the deceased to a temporary casualty collection station established at the scene. From there, the victims were transferred for further examination at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine. All activity is conducted in full coordination with security forces and with the utmost respect for the deceased.”
ZAKA will continue to accompany the families and assist the relevant authorities as required.
