Tamura, Israel
CNN
–
In a small, close-up town near Haifa in northern Israel, the residents here did not expect them to experience such fear.
Tamra, a Palestinian citizen in Israel, was shaken up after an Iranian missile struck a home late on Saturday night, killing four civilians.
According to emergency responders, the rocket struck a home belonging to the Katib family around 11:50pm. Local teacher Manor Katib and her two daughters Shata (13) and 20-year-old Hara, and their relative Manor Diab were all killed instantly.
Manor’s husband Raja and their youngest daughter Razan both survived.
Over the past 20 months of the war, the Rockets have been released from time to time across the Lebanese border towards northern Israel. However, Tamura has not received such a hit this week until hostilities with Iran exploded into a direct strike between the two countries.
The next morning, the mood in the town of Galilee was gloomy, exacerbated by rage over the lack of proper bomb shelter. This was the obvious inequality that exists across the community, an issue that Israeli Palestinian citizens have long warned.
The street where the missiles landed was filled with bulldozers trying to clean up the debris. Many cars were burned from the impact and the glass was crushed. Residents and volunteers gathered to express their support and sadness. The building next to Khatib Home had some damage and almost all of the homes had their windows blown away.
“When we heard the strike, everyone in the village helped us towards it. It was a very difficult and chaotic night. We found some very tragic sights scattered across the streets that we didn’t want to see.”
Diab said it was difficult to reach the family due to the intensity of the shock. Emergency responders searched for survivors trapped under the “destruction” of the three-storey building.
Saturday night was “terrifying” for his 25-year-old neighbor, Mohammad Shama.
“As soon as the escalation began from Iran, we knew the situation would be dangerous, but we didn’t expect danger to come close to us,” he told CNN.
He heard the explosion and immediately ran to his neighbor’s house, trying to retrieve his body. He said the only reason the youngest daughter of the Khatib family survived was because she slept in the room the house uses as a shelter.
However, not every home in Tamura also has shelter.
Only 40% of Tamra’s 37,000 residents have safe rooms or functional shelters, town mayor Musa Abu Rumi told CNN. And there are no bunkers or public shelters ubiquitous in most Israeli towns and cities.
In the wake of the attack, his municipality decided to open up the educational facilities in Tamura to use them as a shelter for those who do not feel like they are sleeping at home.
“The government has never funded the construction of shelters in our town due to other priorities,” he said.
Several government ministers visited Tamura after the attack and Abu Rumi said others were scheduled to visit next week. He told CNN that he would use it to raise the issue of Tamra’s neglect and “bridge the gap between Jewish Israelis and Palestinian citizens of Israel.”
The Israeli Democracy Institute (IDI), an independent research center, published a report following the attacks of Tamura, explaining that it would “remain the Arab community” almost two years after the outbreak of the war. The report points to a “important conservation gap” between the Arab and Jewish communities.
Civil defense capabilities are embedded in Israel’s infrastructure. Israeli law requires that every home, home and industrial building in a building bears bomb shelter since the early 1990s. These shelters have proven important to protect Israelis when warning sirens disappear.
However, many Palestinian towns north of the country “have lacked public shelters, protected areas and shelters,” according to a statement from the Israeli Civil Rights Association.
“The urgency in providing such a response will gain secondary validity in light of the fact that Arab towns have major disparities in the defence sector of the Northern District,” the statement continued.
Local resident Shama admitted that Tamura was negligent and said he suspected it was due to racism.
In many respects, Tamura’s strike highlights not only the tragedy of this war, but also the increasing emphasis on fault lines and divisions in Israeli society and governance.
A social media video, validated by CNN in a nearby town called Mitzpe Aviv, cried out a rainy rocket in Tamura this weekend, yelling, “May your village burn!”
Knet member Dr. Ahmad Tibi spoke to CNN scenes such as “the consequences of the culture of racism that spread across Israeli society and escalated fascism.”
Another Knesset member, Namarajimi, wrote the video for X. “Shaming and disgust.” Regarding the lack of shelters, Rajimi added, “This is an even greater shame because this is a nation with racist and abandonment policies.”
Neimihijaji, a resident of Tamura, also lamented the video, telling CNN, “In your own country, you are treated as a stranger, even your blood, even in your death.”
Social media videos have also been circulating, showing that the occupied Palestinians of East Jerusalem, who praise Iran’s attacks on Tel Aviv.
According to Jerusalem District Police, a resident was arrested and taken to question him. This praised the move by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gwil, who warned that “anyone who celebrates with his enemy will be punished.”
Tamura residents are feeling uneasy as more strike threats continue to promote Israeli fear.
“Last night was one of the most difficult nights I’ve ever had. I can’t forget the image of a girl trapped under a tiled rub,” neighbor Manal Hijaji told CNN.
Hijaji described Katib as some of the nicest and most loving people in the neighborhood. Manners were taught to most residents of Tamura.
One of her former students is a neighbor Ragda, whose home was also damaged by the explosion on Saturday.
“When the rocket hit, I was in bed with my three daughters. The windows were blown away and I bumped into the dust and the rest of the rocket. It happened right in front of my eyes.
Raghda explained the fear he felt as he was holding his 4 month old daughter through the attack. She said her daughter was shocked and remained silent for hours.
“There’s no way to sleep at home tonight,” she said.
Dana Karni of CNN contributed to this report.