Tamra, Israel – When an Iranian missile aimed at the northern port city of Haifa veered off course and struck the town of Tamra on Saturday night, it did more than demolish a home — it shattered any illusion of equal protection under the Israeli state.
The missile strike killed four Palestinian citizens of Israel from the same family — Manar Khatib, her daughters Shada (a university student) and Hala (a 13-year-old), and Manar’s sister-in-law Manal. The family had followed safety protocols, sheltering in their home’s reinforced “safe room,” but it proved tragically insufficient. The blast tore through the house, collapsing both safe rooms and killing everyone inside.
“The second-floor safe room came right down on the first floor and crushed everything,” said Kheir Abu-Elhija, a local nurse and first responder. “The only way we found Manal’s remains was a trail of blood.”
The attack injured nearly 40 others, though none critically, and left neighbors traumatized, with rubble and human remains visible on the street at dawn.
A Town Without Bunkers
Tamra is a Palestinian-majority town of 37,000 in the Lower Galilee. Like many Arab towns in Israel, it lacks even one public bomb shelter. While most Jewish-majority cities are equipped with underground bunkers and well-resourced emergency response systems, Tamra was left to fend for itself.
“Since the creation of the state, the Israeli government didn’t invest in one public shelter for the Arab part of society,” said Mayor Mussa Abu Rumi. He noted that only 40% of Tamra’s homes even have the minimal safe rooms required under modern building codes.
While emergency crews quickly responded to strike sites in Jewish-majority areas like Tel Aviv and Bat Yam, neighbors and a few municipal workers handled the cleanup in Tamra.
Joyful Reactions from Nearby
Adding to the pain, a viral video recorded from a nearby Jewish town captured cheers and singing as the missile hit Tamra.
“To the village! To the village!” someone shouted, followed by applause and a chilling chant: “May your village burn” — a known Jewish extremist anthem.
One resident, fearing police retaliation, asked reporters to publish this account. “Please write about this. If I say anything I’ll have 20 police cars at my house.”
Mayor Abu Rumi confirmed that he had reported the video to the Israeli police and government, but held out little hope for accountability.
“They Just See You as an Arab”
“We try to engage with Israeli society all the time,” said Abu Rumi. “What we find is hatred, and people who don’t see you as a legitimate human being in this place.”
He pointed to a collapse of centrist political forces in Israel, leaving the field dominated by hard-right settler parties.
“They just see you as an Arab, no matter where you are from.”
Political Criticism
Ayman Odeh, a Knesset member and friend of the Khatib family, directly blamed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the current coalition.
“There is a connection between the politics of this government and those who are celebrating this terrible situation,” Odeh said. “This is the most fascist and dangerous government we ever had.”
He linked the missile strike, the war with Iran, and the continued conflict in Gaza to Netanyahu’s political survival strategy, arguing that the prime minister uses chaos to maintain power.
“As long as we do not resolve the Palestinian issue, we will keep going in circles forever.”
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