Fogel family funeral - Israel

A month after horrific massacre which left five members of Fogel family brutally murdered, chief of staff meets with surviving children to discuss investigation's developments

Hanan Greenberg

Published:

Encouraged by Friday's meeting between Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and the surviving children of the Fogel family, whose parents and siblings were murdered in the Itamar massacre, residents of Itamar believe that the defense establishment is getting closer to solving the crime and identifying the killers.

Residents of the settlement are hoping that they will soon have word of major developments in the murder investigation of Udi and Ruth Fogel and three of their children but remain aware of the fact that "this will be a sad Passover. The murderers and those who sent them must be punished".

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Yochai Ben-Yishai, Ruth's brother said that the family will be having their Seder in the north: "We will continue to be together, that's our way of dealing with what happened."

Chief of Staff meets with Fogel children (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Unit)

The investigation of the terror attack, in which parents Ruth and Udi and three of their children Yoav (11), Elad (4) and Hadas (three months) were murdered met with a number of hurdles – mainly because no terror organization took responsibility for the attack. Immediately after the massacre the IDF and Shin Bet launched an intensive investigation in the nearby Palestinian village of Awarta and the surrounding areas.

Over the last few days the Fogel family has been updated on the progress in the murder investigation by GOC Central Command Major General Avi Mizrahi. On Friday, the surviving children, Tamar, Roi and Yishai and an accompanying family member had an official meeting with Chief of Staff Benny Gantz at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv.

During the meeting Gantz sought to hear how the family was dealing with the loss and updated the family on IDF and defense establishment activities with regards to the investigation.