A British father of twins told The Mail on Sunday of his fear and devastation after just learning that the remains of his daughter Liel 12 had been found on kibbutz Be’eri, six weeks after Hamas terrorists set fire to the house and her twin brother Yannai.
Gavin Heller, 50, a salesman from north London, says every day is a living nightmare.
“I don’t even have a body to bury, they only found fragments.”
“The only reason my children died is because they are Jewish, along with babies, children and innocents.
‘I will never see my children grow up or have children. It’s a constant nightmare.
The father of Liel Hetzroni-Heller, 12, pictured, is devastated after his daughter was identified by DNA fragments found after the Hamas attack on Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7.
Liel, pictured when she was younger, was murdered after Hamas terrorists set her house on fire
Liel’s twin brother, Yannai Hetrzoni-Heller, also died in the bloody attack on Kibbutz Be’eri
‘On October 7, my sister called me and told me to put on the news. When I realized that Hamas terrorists had slaughtered their way into Israel, my first thoughts were of the children.
‘But I couldn’t reach anyone by phone for days. I ended up calling the Foreign Office and was visited by the counter-terrorism police in London.
“For weeks I didn’t know where the children were, not knowing if they had been kidnapped by Hamas or if they had been injured.
‘I wasn’t there to protect them, it killed me. Lots of conflicting news and I found myself in the unknown.
‘The situation was so messy I had no idea what had happened and it was the worst worry and indescribable what goes through your mind.’
‘ Unfortunately, three weeks later, counter-terrorism came to my door and told me that Yannai had been identified by his DNA, along with his grandfather Avi Hetzroni.
“Words cannot describe what it feels like to see your son die in this massacre. I fell to my knees.’
Aftermath: IDF soldiers search the remains of Kibbutz Be’eri in the days after the October 7 attack in which Hamas killed at least 130 people
‘I imagine they were shot and Hamas set the house on fire’: Gavin Heller has spoken of his devastation at discovering his children were killed in the attack. In the photo: a destroyed house in Kibbutz Be’eri
Gavin Heller had to wait six weeks before discovering the fate of his children. In the photo: the remains of the fatal attack on Kibbut Be’eri
Gavin had to wait six weeks for Liel’s fate to be known.
‘The family in Israel buried Yannai and his aunt Aylus, but because Liel was not found at the time, they buried some of her toys.
‘Last Saturday after her funeral, Liel was identified based on her DNA. There were reports that they found fragments of her body, which was all that was left.
‘Not only was it a dagger in the heart that she had died, but it is extremely tragic to know that there is nothing left of her.’
Gavin says the children’s mother, Shira, was unable to walk or talk after becoming ill following the birth of the twins, leaving Gavin to care for her.
Liel and Yannai grew up in the loving kibbutz community with Shira’s aunt Aylus and grandfather Avia, whose bodies were also identified, and helped raise the children from birth.
‘I ended up having to move to London to look after them, but I was still close to the children and visited when I could.’
‘My parents are devastated, we are all. All I wanted was to be the best father I could, I tried to do my best. Circumstances forced me to live out there, but I did my best.
‘No one knows how they died. However, I can imagine that they were held hostage with twelve people in another house. I imagine they were shot and Hamas burned the house down.
‘I still don’t know why there was nothing left of Liel, I don’t know and I don’t want to think about it.
‘It feels surreal, I wake up at night and then it dawns on me… I think it’s a form of trying to accept that something like this happened.’
‘Liel was such a sweet little girl, she was creative, she loved make-up and painting, just like any other twelve year old.
‘Yanni loved all sports, especially on the kibbutz. He learned English and it was great that we could speak English. He was more introverted than Liel.
‘The last conversation I had with Liel was her little voice, she left a message saying she wanted some perfume as I was going to see them last October.
‘Her last recording is on WhatsApp.
‘So much has happened that I haven’t even grieved yet. I plan to go to Israel soon.
‘We are having memorials for Liel in England this week, while Yannai had one at my parents’ house.
‘I really hope in my heart that something like this never happens again. Never again, now.’