Ayelet Arnin, a 22-year-old news editor at Israel’s main broadcaster Kan, was among the victims killed in the Hamas terrorist attack on a rave in Israel’s southern region Saturday.
Arnin was reportedly an American citizen. A friend who attended the rave with Arnin reported her death and informed Arnin’s parents.
“The Israel Broadcasting Corporation is saddened by the murder of our friend, Ayelet Arnin, an employee of the corporation, a sub-editor in the news division, in an attack by Hamas terrorists in the south,” Kan News Division spokesman Elon Baruch said in a statement Wednesday.
“We share in the deep sorrow of the family members, her many friends and colleagues. Ayelet was a symbol of professionalism, diligence and always strived for perfection in her work and was very much loved by all of us.”
Arnin joined Kan around a year ago in the role of sub-editor for Kan 11’s evening news edition. She also held roles as a digital editor, news editor and editorial coordinator for Israeli army radio.
“The funeral will take place today around 21:00 at the Meshgav cemetery. Exact time and details of the swearing will be provided later,” the statement added. “We wish to send our condolences to the members of Ayelet’s family and to strengthen them in this difficult time. R.I.P.”
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken informed George Stephanopoulos Sunday that a Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair was among those kidnapped by the Hamas and taken to be held hostage.
A number of reports have indicated this is the most severe attack against Israel since the Yom Kippur War in 1973, something Blinken reiterated before he added that “there’s a fundamental difference, that was a war that was state-to-state, country-to-country, army-to-army. This is a massive terrorist attack that is gunning down Israeli civilians in their towns, in their homes.”
Hollywood has responded to the horrific situation between Israel and Palestine with calls for support, empathy and more.
“Abbott Elementary” actress Lisa Ann Walter said on social media: “My whole family believes in a two-state solution. We don’t like Netanyahu. Including my oldest kids who are Jewish. To reduce this to simplistic ‘us against them’ is not only false, it furthers fighting.”
She added: “Everyone deserves a homeland. Killing is wrong. Feel free to unfollow.”
Other celebrities like Gigi Hadid have weighed in since the Hamas attacked across the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
“Some of the immediate reaction is disbelief, rage and anger. And I think I’ve settled in over the last 24 hours to just immense sadness,” said Casting Networks co-CEO Rafi Gordon, who was born and raised in Israel before moving to the United States as a teenager. “This feels like a 9/11 kind of moment, where I don’t know what normal is on the other side of this.”
