Maya and Rina Dee were shot at near the Hamra Junction in the Jordan Valley
Two British-Israeli sisters, Maya and Rina Dee, were killed in a shooting near the Hamra Junction in the northern Jordan Valley. The sisters were on their way to Tiberias when their car was fired upon by gunmen and driven off the road. The girls’ father, a well-known rabbi, was driving ahead of them in a separate vehicle. The family lived in the Efrat settlement and was originally from London. Their mother, Leah, remains in critical condition in hospital. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called the shooting a terror attack.
The shooting occurred on the same day as a suspected car-ramming attack in Tel Aviv in which an Italian tourist was killed and three Britons were injured. The incidents followed Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon and Gaza on Hamas targets. The air strikes were in response to 34 rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel, which Israel blamed on Hamas.
While Hamas praised the shooting of the British-Israeli women, it did not claim responsibility for the attack. In response to the shooting, Israel Police commissioner Kobi Shabtai has called on all Israelis with firearms licenses to carry them at all times.
The UK Foreign Office expressed sadness over the deaths of the two British-Israeli citizens and the serious injury of another individual. Despite the violence, many hope that peace can one day be achieved in the region.
