BOONE COUNTY, Mo. — One of the 11 Americans killed in Israel over the weekend was a woman born in Missouri, her father told CNN.
Deborah and Shlomi Matias were killed by Hamas militants in the conflict. Their son, 16-year-old Rotem Matias, survived by hiding and texting with his family.
Deborah Matias was born in Boone County, her father, Ilan Troen, told CNN. Troen was on the phone with her during the attack, then with Rotem.
“We were on the phone the entire day with our grandson, Rotem, as he lay first under her body, and then found a place to escape under a blanket in a laundry,” Troen said.
Troen said Rotem was shot but will survive.
“The terrorists who came, they had explosives and blew up the front door to their house and then blew out the front door to their so-called safe room,” Troen said.
Rotem hid for hours, texting with family so as not to alert the militants.
“Deborah was a child of light and life,” Troen said. “She, rather than becoming a scientist or a physician, she said to me one day, ‘Dad, I have to do music because it’s in my soul.’”
Deborah was pursuing a musical education in Tel Aviv. She had just turned 50, according to NBC Boston.
Eleven U.S. citizens have been killed in the conflict, according to a Monday afternoon update from the White House.
"It’s heart-wrenching," said President Joe Biden in an emailed statement. "These families have been torn apart by inexcusable hatred and violence."
The White House said some Americans are still unaccounted for.