The day after the direct missile strike on Haifa, the full scale of destruction – and tragedy – came into view. The four trapped individuals whom rescuers had been searching for over many hours were located without signs of life and pulled from the wreckage. They were an elderly couple, their son, and his partner.
As a result of the direct strike on Haifa, an 82-year-old resident of the city was wounded moderately and was extracted from the debris. Throughout the night, search teams combed the site for the four trapped victims before the grim news arrived.
"We arrived at the scene yesterday afternoon, about ten to fifteen minutes after the first indication of the impact. We encountered an extremely severe scene of destruction," Lt. Col. (res.) Amichai Kedar, commander of the Home Front Command's Haifa District coastal sector, said – speaking before the bodies had been located. "Today, we can say that we expect to find four trapped people here. Two, I can already say with great sorrow, we found without signs of life – they have been located but not yet removed from the site, though they were found without signs of life. As for the other two, we still have no indication. We cannot say anything at this point.
"We believe we know the identities of the missing, and only after we finish working the scene will the process of confirming that information be completed – and then it will be possible to release it.
"A great deal of work is being done. I will say, in the end, there is a missile here that apparently did not detonate on its own, and we think there may be parts of it inside the structure – which is why extensive steps were taken to minimize the risk to forces and residents, so that work could continue at the scene and those who can continue living here can get on with their lives. The Home Front Command's rescue forces, led by the IDF's search-and-rescue unit and the district's rescue battalions, have been working for the past 14 hours to reach the location where we believe the people are. These operations take time. The scene of destruction is extremely complex, and the work there takes a very, very long time.
"Several ceilings have collapsed on top of one another, and ultimately, you have to reach the cavities between the floors. For as long as we haven't located the missing, we treat them as if they are alive. That is why the work is delicate – carried out with precision tools – so as not to harm those who are trapped."
The full, bitter irony of war fell hardest on the Elvigly family. Shani Cooper, a resident of Nahariya, had decided to leave her city, which had itself come under attack, and seek a measure of calm at her father David Elvigly's home in Haifa.
But it was there, in the place that was supposed to be a little safer, that Shani found herself at the heart of the impact zone – just two buildings away from the direct Iranian missile strike.
David recalled, "There was an early warning, and we had to go down five floors to the shelter. We first went down to the ground floor to be close, and when we heard the siren, we continued down the remaining three floors. I went inside and held my granddaughter by the hand, but then another drama unfolded."
In the chaos of the siren, Shani's daughter did not realize she was already in her grandfather's arms. "She panicked badly and shot to the door like a spring trying to find me," Shani recounted. "It was terrifying. I was convinced she had bolted. I was standing with the neighbor at the open door, about to go out to look for her, and right at that moment, there was this massive boom. There was a ringing, and the neighbor and I just flew into each other from the force of the blast."
Despite the shelter being underground, the force of the impact – which occurred just two buildings away – was felt powerfully. "Literally two or three seconds after they shut the door, there was a very loud boom, the shelter shook, and the whole building trembled," David recalled. "We understood it was very close to us, and we were all terrified of what we'd find when we opened the door."
When they did open the door, "there was heavy smoke, a burning smell, and windows blown out in the lobby," David said. "Several apartments in the building were hit by shattered glass, and there were people screaming and looking for those who were missing. It was terrible and horrifying – a genuinely harrowing event. We are stunned to hear that it landed but didn't explode. It's a miracle. If it had exploded, I don't even want to think about what would have happened here."
David said his wife was taken to the emergency room. "She had a minor anxiety attack. I took her to the ER, they treated her there, and we are moving on. She is fine, and that is what matters most."
