'My mom died on top of me': 16-year-old Israeli-American recalls playing dead as Hamas terrorists stormed his home, murdered parents in front of him

An Israeli-American teen suffered through life-shattering agony when Hamas terrorists stormed his home, murdered his parents, and forced him to play dead to survive the brutal raid.

Last Saturday, Hamas militants blitzed a kibbutz in southern Israel near the border with Gaza – one of many attacks that ignited the war between Israel and Palestine. From a hospital bed in the southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheva, Rotem Mathias recalled the real-life nightmare he experienced as he desperately did everything in his power to escape the murderous clutches of the Hamas extremists.

Mathias said after being alerted to the invasion, his family barricaded themselves in their home by putting mattresses and tables in front of the door. However, Hamas militants shot open the door.

Rotem's parents, Shlomi and Deborah Mathias, were murdered right in front of him. Shlomi Mathias reportedly had his arm blown off by a grenade and Debbie Mathias was shot dead by the invaders. The bullet that killed Debbie traveled through her body and hit Rotem in the stomach.

Mathias told ABC News, "They throw a grenade or something that exploded. The last thing my dad said is he lost his arm and then my mom died on top of me."

There was nowhere to run, so the 16-year-old Israeli-American citizen played dead and prayed that the bloodthirsty terrorists wouldn't find him. As the militants surveyed the dead bodies, Mathias said some of them were laughing.

"I just stopped my breathing, I lowered it down as much as I possibly could," Mathias explained. "I didn't move. I was terrified. I didn't make any noise. And I prayed for any god – I didn't really care which god – I just prayed for a god that they won't find me."

With his dead mother's corpse on top of him, Mathias played dead for about 30 minutes. Once the Hamas terrorists left his home, Mathias hid under a bed and later scurried to a laundry room to hide under a blanket, relatives told the Associated Press.

Eventually, Mathias was rescued by Israeli soldiers.

Meanwhile, the Mathiases' two daughters were hiding in safe rooms in the kibbutz – not far from where their parents were killed.

"All we could hear were gunshots and people screaming and bombs going off, cars exploding," 21-year-old Shir Mathias remembered.

Before she was murdered, the mother told her daughters not to open the door of the safe rooms because Hamas terrorists had infiltrated the kibbutz. The daughters allegedly hid in the safe rooms for more than 12 hours before being rescued by IDF soldiers.

"I packed up a bag as quietly as I could, and I ran to my sister’s apartment and I knocked at her door. She thought I was a terrorist. I called out her name and she opened up," 19-year-old Shakked Mathias said. "From that point on, we were together. And the first thing I asked her, 'Do you think ... Mom and Dad are dead? Do you think our brother is OK?'"

Shakked told the AP, "It’s like if you close your eyes, you might think you’re in a movie theater. Then you open your eyes and you realize: I’m in my room. I’m in my house. This is real. We could hear missiles flying down. We could hear them whistle and explode. It was insane. I’ve never heard anything like this. It was terrifying."

The deadly attack allegedly came just hours after the family had gathered for a festive get-together with live music performed by the parents. Shlomi Mathias was a music teacher, and Debbie Mathias was a singer and songwriter.

Just hours before her parents were slain, Shir Mathias recalled, "Before I went to my house, mom said, 'Bye. Have fun tomorrow.' I was like, 'Thank you, I love you.' I gave her a hug and gave my dad a hug."

More than 1,300 Israelis have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, and over 1,300 Palestinians have died in Gaza from the conflict.

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