Brandeis professor was on the phone with daughter when she was killed by Hamas gunfire
An Israeli scholar and retired Brandeis University professor whose daughter was killed by Hamas terrorists said he was on the phone with her the moment she was shot dead using her body to shield her 16-year-old son from harm.
Ilan Troen, who recently retired from his role at the Massachusetts college, told CNN he was speaking with his daughter, Debbie Shahar Troen Mathias when the terrorists opened fire in a safe room in her room.
“We were on the phone with Deborah as she was killed,” Troen told “CNN This Morning” on Monday.
Troen’s son-in-law, Shlomi Matthias, was also killed as the couple covered their son, Rotem Mathias.
“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 told CNN from Be’er Sheva, Israel.
His grandson, Rotem — who was injured but will survive — used a group text message to communicate with the family.
“He was told not to speak and therefore he was to hide and use texting,” Troen said. “By the time he was rescued, he had 4% left in his battery.”
“The brunt of the shot was borne by his mother,” Troen said, calling his slain daughter a “child of light and life.”
“She, rather than becoming a scientist or a physician, she said to me one day, ‘Dad, I have to do music, because it’s in my soul,’” Troen said.
Debbie had attended the Berkeley College of Music in Boston, as well as the Rimon School of Music in Tel Aviv, which is where she met her husband.
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Heartfelt tributes poured in for the couple on Sunday when the news first broke of their tragic deaths, with one describing Shlomi as “a person full of love who loved to make music, who loved to teach, who loved life and who loved the country he lived in.”
A friend of Debbie’s said she was a “beautiful soul” and shared a snapshot of the couple.
“I can’t believe My friend and fellow poet Debbie Shahar Troen Mathias and her husband were murdered in this senseless and horrific attack on Israel,” Ayala Zarfjian wrote on Facebook.
“We wrote poetry online and encouraged one another. She was a beautiful soul. Last week, I felt so happy to see lovely pics from their vacation in the Netherlands. Rest in peace.”
Worst attack on Israel in 50 years: How we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip over three decades after winning the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: Terrorist group Hamas wins a Palestinian legislative election.
2007: Hamas seizes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launches military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fired rockets into the town of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches the biggest attack on Israel in 50 years.
Over 700 Israelis are dead over 2,150 are wounded and 100 were taken hostage with the death toll expected to rise after Hamas terrorists fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of militants into Israeli towns.
Hamas terrorists were seen taking female hostages and parading them down the street in horrifying videos.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced “We are at war” and vowed Hamas would pay “a price it has never known.”
Gaza health officials report at least 300 Palestinians have been killed with 2,200 injured.
Martin Kramer, a historian at Tel Aviv University, noted Troen had recently returned to Israel upon his retirement.
“My friend Ilan Troen, who has done so much for Israel studies in America, has suffered an unimaginable loss. He just recently retired from Brandeis and returned home to Israel. A miracle wrapped in tragedy,” Kramer wrote.
The couple are just two of at least 800 Israelis who have been killed since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack Saturday.
The number of dead is expected to rise further, with the fate of dozens of Israelis abducted to the Gaza Strip still unclear.
On Sunday night, Hamas and Islamic Jihad boasted that they were holding about 130 hostages, claiming this included high-ranking army officers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced “We are at war” and vowed Hamas would pay “a price it has never known.”
Gaza health officials report at least 300 Palestinians have been killed with 2,200 injured.
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