Details Emerge On Hamas Attacks That Killed Bucks Co. Native, Family

BUCKS COUNTY, PA —Terri Peterson is trying to understand the tragedy that took the life of her sister, a Bucks County native, and her relatives in the recent Hamas attacks on Israel.

As the war continues, the Montgomery County resident has launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds for her loved ones who survived the attacks in Israel with just the shirts on their backs.

Peterson, who lives in Hatfield and organized the fundraiser, provided some details about the family tragedy in Israel.

Her sister, Carol SimanTov, 70, of Bristol Township, was shot and killed by militants as she tried to get into her safe room in a town in southern Israel, WFMZ-TV reported. Her Facebook page said she was originally from Levittown and went to school at Woodrow Wilson High School.

"I want to first thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers for the losses my family has faced after the Hamas attack on Israel, Peterson said. "Thank you for all the generous donations we've received so far."

More than $6,000 has been raised with a $25,000 goal on the GoFundMe page.

Peterson said that in the small Israeli community of Nir Oz, where about 400 people live, 20 people were killed and 70 were taken hostage.

Besides her sister's death, SimanTov's son John and his wife Tamar and their three children —twin girls Shachar and Arbel, and son Omer —were tragically killed by terrorists in a separate attack.

She said that terrorists went from house to house, shooting, killing, or abducting people and setting fire to their homes and cars and that "there is nothing left of Nir Oz.

My surviving nieces —Ranae Butler, Koren and Gili Hazoutte and their four children —and Amit and Yishai Vahaba and their four children were saved from their safe rooms in their burning homes by the Israeli military.

"They were evacuated from the area with nothing but the clothes on their backs," Peterson said. "It is for my surviving Israeli family that I ask for your help. After suffering such a horrific attack and facing the death of their mother and brother, they must now find the strength and the means to bury those lost, and somehow build a new life for themselves and their children."