Father of terror bomb victim: Rina saved us all, she died a hero's death
''I wanted to believe I was dreaming,' says 46-year-old rabbi as he recalled the moments he and his teenage children were hit by a roadside bomb while walking to a West Bank natural spring, but 'after seeing Rina I realized I wasn't'
The 17-year-old from the cental city of Lod was killed Friday morning when a homemade explosive device detonated as she and her father and 19-year-old brother were walking to a natural spring near the West Bank settlement of Dolev.
"It was a large explosive," Rabbi Eitan Shnerb said from his Jerusalem hospital bed.
The rabbi sustained light wounds and his son, Dvir, was seriously wounded in the attack.
"I heard Dvir shout, and I yelled 'Rina, Rina.' I wanted to believe I was dreaming but after seeing Rina I realized I wasn't," he said.
"I feel okay. I have shrapnel in my stomach but I feel okay. Rina saved all of us. She died a hero's death. Her face was intact. I gave her a kiss and I said to her: 'We will be strong.'"
After the bomb was detonated at around 10am Friday, the rabbi managed to call the police and report the attack. A report was sent simultaneously to the Magen David Adom rescue service.
Military, police and MDA personnel rushed to the site of the attack, where paramedics battled to save Rina's life, but were ultimately had no choice but to pronounce her dead at the scene.
Hundreds of people turned out earlier Friday for Rina's funeral in Lod. Her sister, Tamar, paid tribute to her sister whom she said had left a void in the heart of the nation.
"My dearest Rina. We were granted you for almost 17 years. We were granted the best of you, your sensitivity, to see how you constantly strove to advance, to learn and understand," Levanoni said.
"This hole is not just felt by the family; it is a void in the heart of the nation. This space now needs to be filled; the work begins now. Dearest, beloved Rina, thank you for the years we had with you, I hope that together we can fulfill the mission you left for us."
Rina's uncle, Shmulik Shenhav, described her as "an innocent, God-fearing girl."
Shenhav said that the rabbi tried to help his children in the aftermath of the attack.
"Eitan, who is also a paramedic, tried to help Rina but it was too late," Shenhav said from outside the hospital where the two survivors were being treated.
"He took off his tzitzit (Jewish garment worn under the clothes by Orthodox men) and made a tourniquet for Dvir to stop the shrapnel that punctured his hand."
"She was so sweet, with her whole life ahead of her," he said.
