Remains found of 12-year-old girl burned alive by Hamas

(JNS) The remains of a 12-year-old Israeli girl, burned alive alongside her twin brother and great-aunt in the October 7 Hamas onslaught on southwestern Israel, have been identified by archaeologists sifting through the rubble, family members said on Sunday.

Liel Heller-Hetzroni was murdered, together with her twin brother Yanai and their 73-year-old great-aunt Ayala, in the attack on Kibbutz Be’eri after they were taken hostage by Palestinian terrorists, who were then engaged in a firefight with Israeli security forces. 

The twins had been raised by their great-aunt after their mother suffered brain damage immediately following their C-section birth due to a tragic hospital mistake.

Their grandfather Aviya was also killed in the attack on the kibbutz.

Family members held a symbolic, funeral at a temporary resting place at Kibbutz Revivim last Wednesday, burying Liel’s belongings since her remains had not yet been identified.

The family said Sunday that they will inter her remains at her home kibbutz—which is currently a closed military zone—when the survivors of the terrorist rampage are allowed to return.

About 10% of the 1,000 members of Be’eri, facing the Gaza Strip, were murdered during the assault. Overall, more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed, and some 240 others were kidnapped in the onslaught.