Zahar Bashara, a 25-year-old resident of the Druze town of Ein Qiniyye, was killed on Wednesday in a Hezbollah rocket strike on the Upper Galilee. He was pulled dead out of burning rubble of the building where he was trapped in Kiryat Shmona after a rocket fell in the local industrial zone. The Lebanon-based terror group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Bashara worked as a driver for the Alon Paper Products plant, that employed high-functioning mentally challenged staff.
"He was the soul of the plant," Dovrat Ohana, a co-worker, said. "This is a small team and we are like a close family," she said. "We love and help each other. even when we were evacuated, we stayed in telephone contact," Ohana said. "Zahar would do everything. Always helping and loving everyone. This is a major loss."
She said she did not know how the tragedy would impact the workplace. "The owners have been on reserve duty since the start of the war. I don't know what to say anymore. This is a heartache."
Bashara's cousin said the news of his death was a shock. "He was one of the best. He has a twin brother and one sister. His father died seven years ago and Zahar became the backbone of the family. He worked hard to provide for them and had the trust of everyone.
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Aftermath of a deadly Hezbollah rocket attack on Wednesday
(Photo: Fire & Rescue Authority )
The barrage of some 30 rockets came after the IDF said a strike on South Lebanon overnight prevented a terror attack. Israel's military carried out a targeted killing of a senior member of a Palestinian Sunni militia and six other members of the group in the village of Hebbariyeh in Southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the deadly attack that also wounded one other person and caused damage in the area.