Herzog visits relatives of 4 killed in Iranian ballistic missile strike on Tamra

President Isaac Herzog visits the northern Arab city of Tamra this morning to pay condolences to the family of three Muslim women and a girl killed in an Iranian missile barrage over the weekend.

The president says he came “to offer comfort and embrace the bereaved families…to console the people of Tamra and, through them, the entire Arab and Israeli society as one,” in a post on his X account.

Manar Khatib and her two daughters, Hala, 20, and Shada, 13, were killed in the attack, alongside another relative, also named Manar Khatib.

Herzog condemns reactions by some Israelis who celebrated the attack on the Arab city, saying he rejects “all the vile and racist videos filmed that evening” by citizens who make up only “a tiny minority” of Israeli society, according to a readout from Herzog’s office.

“I receive responses from citizens all across the country — we all believe in a shared life in this land. We are all children of God, and together we will overcome,” he says. “We will also see the day after — the day when Jews and Arabs live in peace, and Israel and all its surroundings — including Palestinians, Israelis, and the peoples of the region — live in peace.”

Herzog notes that “Iran and its terror proxies do not distinguish between Jews and Arabs” in their attacks on Israel, and says the operation against Tehran “is a war of the free world against terror. A struggle of light against darkness. For a safer, better future in Israel and across our region.”

He also addresses the remaining 53 hostages in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive, saying, “Every day, we will continue to do everything in our power” to bring them home.