Home Israel Mother of British-Israeli sisters killed in West Bank shooting dies

Mother of British-Israeli sisters killed in West Bank shooting dies

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The mother of two British-Israeli sisters killed in a shooting in the occupied West Bank has died from injuries sustained in the incident.

Maia and Rina Dee, 20 and 15, were killed on Friday when their car was shot at by a suspected Palestinian gunman. Their mother, Lucy (also known as Leah), 45, who was in the car with them, sustained critical injuries and was left in a coma.

Ein Kerem hospital in Jerusalem announced that she had died from her injuries on Monday morning. It said: “Unfortunately, despite intense and relentless efforts, due to the critical nature of her injuries, the team had to determine her death today.”

Rabbi Leo Dee told a press conference that his daughters Rina and Maia were killed by 20 bullets from a Kalashnikov rifle and his wife Lucy was shot twice.

He said: “Lucy had had two bullets, one through her brain stem, and one lodged at the top of her spine. There was an operation, there was reason for hope. But alas, our family of seven is now a family of four.”

Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, expressed his sympathy for the family. He said: “How much we hoped, how much we prayed, but tragically Leah, mother of Rina and Maia of blessed memory, who was fatally wounded in the terror attack in the Jordan Valley, has died of her injuries. On behalf of the entire people of Israel, I send my warmest condolences to the Dee family and pray that they will know no more sorrow.”

The Twitter account of Israel’s embassy in the UK said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Dee family’s loved ones in the UK and #Israel. May their memories be a blessing.”

Lucy Dee has sadly died from the injuries she sustained in the terror attack that also killed her daughters, #British-Israeli sisters Maya & Rina Dee.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Dee family’s loved ones in the UK and #Israel.

May their memories be a blessing.🕯️ pic.twitter.com/OIhydslsV2

— Israel in the UK 🇮🇱🤝🇬🇧 (@IsraelinUK) April 10, 2023

The Board of Deputies of British Jews said: “Our hearts go out to the Dee family at the terrible news that Lucy Dee has now also passed away after the Palestinian terror attack on Friday that killed two of her daughters, Maia and Rina. May their memories be for eternal blessing.”

On Sunday, hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of Maia and Rina. . At the funeral, Rabbi Dee said: “How will I explain to Lucy what happened to our precious kids when she wakes up?”

He told the BBC that when he heard the news of the attack he did not realise his own family had been involved. He only found out when they did not answer the phone and he drove to the scene, where he was shown his daughter’s ID card.

Israeli forces are still trying to track down the attacker.

Maia (left) and Rina Dee
Maia (left) and Rina Dee. Photograph: Office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu/PA

Leo Dee was formerly the senior rabbi at Radlett united synagogue in Hertfordshire and an assistant rabbi in Hendon, north London. The sisters were born in London and the family moved to Israel in 2014, according to the Telegraph.

The family, including three surviving children, live in the West Bank settlement of Efrat, near the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.

The attack came after Israel launched retaliatory airstrikes at Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Tensions are high after days of fighting at Jerusalem’s most holy site during the rare convergence of Ramadan, Passover and Easter.