A local Israeli-American man was killed defending his village when Palestinian militants breached the high-tech wall that separates the southern border from Gaza, leaving his family to mourn the loss in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Igal Wachs and Liat Oren-Wachs left the village of Netiv HaAsara eight years ago and ultimately settled in Lexington with their young son, Johnathan. Wachs moved back to their village recently. He and his brother Amit patrolled the high-tech fence designed to detect any security breach, which was located hundreds of meters from their home. The Lexington community is now embracing Oren-Wachs and her 11-year-old son, who are grieving without the closure of a proper burial.
“It's unbelievable,” Oren-Wachs told NBC10 Boston Wednesday. “It's the minimal thing that the family should do -- is bury their dead. You know, relatives and family. We want to do it and we can't do it. We can't.”
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In the deadliest attack Israel has seen in decades, Hamas militants flew over the barrier on hand gliders and blew it up with bombs and bulldozers. Like most Israelis, Igal Wachs served in the Israeli Defense Forces and was trained in combat. Rabbi Yisroel New of the Chabad of Lexington explained what likely happened to him, noting that the exact details have not yet been confirmed.
“They probably got a call that this was happening they assembled, but they were inundated with hundreds and hundreds of terrorists who were there with one intention of murdering so they were probably the first line of defense,” the rabbi said. “Who knows how many lives were saved by them being there and ultimately giving the ultimate sacrifice?”
Photos: Israel-Hamas War
Faced with breaking the news to her son, Oren-Wachs sought guidance from mental health experts and local faith leaders.
“She had to go home to tell her 10-year-old son, Jonathan, that he lost his father,” Rabbi New said. “We told her as a mom, the most important thing right now is Jonathan.”
“I think the fact that we are so far away is so frustrating because we hear a lot we have a lot of information coming in, but first, it takes time to internalize it and to understand it, truly understand it,” Oren-Wachs said. “And he is very young. Very young.”
Now Oren-Wachs and her 11-year-old son are left to process an unimaginable loss without the closure of a proper Shiva, a week-long mourning period that traditionally begins immediately after the burial ceremony.
“We're numb,” Oren-Wachs said. “We're like, this didn't happen, right? This is a nightmare. And we're going to wake up from this nightmare.”
