Danielle Shefi

Apr 27, 2002 - Danielle Shefi, 5, of Adora, was one of four people killed when terrorists dressed in IDF uniforms and combat gear cut through the settlement's defensive perimeter fence and entered Adora, west of Hebron. The terrorists entered several homes, firing on people in their bedrooms.

The attack took place at about 9 AM on Saturday morning in the hilltop community of Adora, northwest of Hebron. At least two terrorists, wearing IDF uniforms and flak jackets, armed with Kalashnikov and M-16 assault rifles, infiltrated the community. They entered several homes, killing 5-year-old Danielle Shefi, who was playing in her parents' bedroom, and Katrina Greenberg, asleep in her bedroom, and injuring seven others. Arik Becker and Ya'acov Katz were killed as they and others from the community's response team exchanged fire with the terrorists.

Ya'acov Shefi, a policeman who serves in the Hebron district, was attending Shabbat services in the synagogue when he heard gunshots. He raced toward his home and saw two people near the dining-room door wearing army uniforms and flak jackets. "I asked them what had happened. They didn't answer and began shooting at me," he said.

Unarmed, he ran to a neighbor's house in order to find out what had happened to his family, and learned his daughter had been killed and his wife and two sons wounded. "I saw my wife Shiri being carried out on a stretcher, and she called out, 'They murdered our daughter,' " he said.

Shiri was in the bedroom playing with her three children. A terrorist entered the bedroom and sprayed them with gunfire. She pushed the terrorist out, closed the door and hid with the children underneath the bed. She told them not to cry. Five-year-old Danielle, who was shot in the head, was killed. Eliad, 2, his brother, Uriel, 4, and their mother, Shiri, were lightly injured.

Ya'acov Shefi said: "Danielle, who never hurt anyone and who was taught to love and respect all human beings, Jew or Arab, was murdered in her parents' bedroom - which for her should have been the safest place."

Danielle Shefi was buried in Kiryat Gat. She is survived by her parents and two younger brothers.