Israeli musicians killed while shielding teen son from Hamas gunfire

An Israeli-American teenager managed to survive a harrowing attack on his family's home by Hamas militants afterhis parents shielded him from gunfire with their bodies and died in the process.

The Mathias family resided on a kibbutz in southern Israel near the Gaza border and had only a brief moment to seek shelter after being alerted to the impending attack, Associated Press reported.

The area has emerged as the site of one of the deadliest massacres in the ongoing war.

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What happened?

As the chaos ensued on Saturday (Oct 7), the family (16-year-old Rotem and his parents Shlomi Mathias and Debbie Mathias)huddled in a bomb shelter in their home, a smallroom designed to protect against rocket attacks.

Shlomi Mathias, the father, had his arm severed while trying to fend off the attackers.

During the assault, Debbie Mathias, the mother, directed her son, Rotem, to take cover. Tragically, she was fatally shot, with the bullet passing through her and injuring Rotem.

Rotem, 16,played dead beneath his mother for nearly half an hour before finding refuge under a bed and later under a blanket in an adjacent laundry room.

He managed to escape the attackers twice, some of whom were even laughing, before being rescued by Israeli soldiers, Associated Press report added.

The family's ordeal unfolded through a group chat, with the couple initially reporting the sounds of voices in Arabic, breaking glass, and gunfire. They later went silent for 20 minutes before Rotem sent a message to state hisparents had been killed.

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Relatives, including Deborah Mathias' brother-in-law Eran Shani, his wife, and daughters, provided support to Rotem during the next 10 hours, Associated Press reported.

It was a family of musicians

The attack occurred after the family had gathered for a joyous evening with music, as both of their parents were musicians.

Shlomi Mathias was a music teacher, and Debbie Mathias was a singer and songwriter. They had fondly reminisced about how they had met.

The family had returned to the kibbutz, with plans to attend a Bruno Mars concert in Tel Aviv the following day.

Within hours, their lives were shattered by a deadly attack by Hamas militants.

"The last thing my dad said is he lost his arm. Then my mom died on top of me," Rotem Mathias told ABC News.

"I just stopped my breathing. I lowered it down as much as I possibly could. I didn’t move and was terrified," he said. "I didn’t make any noise. I prayed for any god. I didn’t really care which god. I just prayed for a god that they won’t find me."

(With inputs from agencies)

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