Who is Rotem Mathias? Israeli-American teen witnesses parents’ tragic loss in Hamas Attack

A juvenile boy who holds dual citizenship with the United States and Israel recently described the horrific event of seeing his parents brutally murdered by Hamas fighters. The teen has been identified as Rotem Mathias.

He told a graphic story of hiding behind a cloth saturated in blood and hoping they wouldn’t come back to take his life as well.

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Who is Rotem Mathias?

Rotem Mathias is 16 years old. He is a resident of Holit Kibbutz in southern Israel. Rotem and his parents tried to hide inside a house during the raid, but the attackers kept firing shots and throwing explosives. Deborah bravely took the brunt of the assailants’ gunfire to shelter Rotem with her body in a desperate attempt to protect her kid. She tragically passed away, as did her spouse.

In an emotional interview on Good Morning America with ABC’s James Longman, Rotem described how he fled out of concern that the militants would come looking for him. The terrifying incident happened on Saturday while the 16-year-old, his parents Deborah and Shlomi, and his siblings were living on a kibbutz in southern Israel.

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Rotem, together with his sibling and their grandfather, Ilan Troen, endured a terrifying experience. Rotem revealed that in an effort to avoid being found, he prayed ardently to any higher power.

Ilan Troen noted that the militants’ strategies were similar to those employed during the Holocaust. “They wanted to verify that they had killed everybody, so they set the fire—this is a story that comes from the Holocaust—to ensure if there were any survivors they would exit and they could murder them,” he said, emphasizing the terrifying motive behind the deed.

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Ilan Troen, Rotem’s grandpa, emphasized the attack’s deliberate character once more. He stressed that it seemed as though the attack on the people was planned and prepared.