The devastated father of two British-Israeli sisters killed on the West Bank has said he will be ‘haunted’ after missing a call from one of them while they were being attacked.
Rabbi Leo Dee was speaking after his wife Lucy Dee, 45, also died from her wounds at Israel’s Hadassah hospital on Monday.
Holding back tears he said ‘our family of seven is now a family of four’.
Rabbi Dee said his wife and daughters Rina, 15, and Maia, 20, described as ‘idealistic, pure-hearted and kind’, were killed by a Kalashnikov rifle on Friday.
He said one of his other daughters, travelling with him in another car some distance in front on their way to a holiday, told him there had been an attack.
She showed him a photo on Instagram of the car involved with a bullet hole in it and recognised the suitcases inside covered with blood.
Rabbi Dee said: ‘I called Lucy – no answer, I called Maia – no answer, I called Rina – no answer. Then I saw a missed call from Maia at 10.52am – I hadn’t notice it ring, I hadn’t picked up the phone.
‘The feeling she called me during the attack and I wasn’t able to speak to her will come back and haunt me for a while.’
He said that he was able to identify his daughter Maia at the scene after police produced her identity card, and he then drove to the hospital where his wife had been taken.
Rabbi Dee said: ‘I went numb. I didn’t cry yet, I was highly rational. I drove another hour and a half to the hospital.
‘Lucy had had two bullets – one through the 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.’
He described his wife and daughters as ‘three beautiful innocent young ladies in the prime of their lives’ and urged people to post images of the Israeli flag on social media in their memory.
