Israeli woman thought missing following Berlin terror attack found dead

Elyakim's husband, Rami, was seriously injured in the incident and remains hospitalized after recovering from surgery.

By TAMARA ZIEVE, HERB KEINON
Updated: DECEMBER 23, 2016 00:14
Scene of terror attack in Berlin, Dec. 12, 16 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Scene of terror attack in Berlin, Dec. 12, 16
(photo credit: REUTERS)
An Israeli woman was identified as one of those killed in Monday’s terrorist attack in Berlin. Dalia Elyakim, who was vacationing with her husband in the German capital, is believed to have been killed when a truck plowed into an evening crowd of Berlin Christmas shoppers.
Local police said that 12 people were killed in the ramming attack. The truck driver fled the scene and is the subject of a massive manhunt.
Elyakim’s husband, Rami, was seriously wounded in the incident and remains hospitalized after recovering from surgery.
The Foreign Ministry issued a statement Thursday saying that during the night Dalia Elyakim was positively identified among those killed in the attack. The embassy was working with the family to bring her body back to Israel for burial on Friday.
Berlin Rabbi visited injured Israeli and prayed beside his bed
Authorities said it took time to identify her body, since the truck mangled those it struck. The 25-ton truck, belonging to a Polish freight company, smashed into wooden stalls serving mulled wine and sausages and injured almost 50 people.
President Reuven Rivlin expressed his condolences to the grieving Israeli family, adding that the world must remain resolute in the face of violent extremism.
“I received with great sadness the news of the death of Dalia Elyakim in the horrific terrorist attack in Berlin,” Rivlin said. “I send my sympathies and offer strength to her family, who are at the bedside of her husband, Rami, who was seriously injured in the attack, and we pray for his speedy recovery.
“We will remain united and determined in the face of this murderous terrorism which strikes across the world, and we will fight relentlessly against extremism and hatred,” the president added.
The Berlin Jewish community Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal has been in close contact with the Elyakim family and the authorities since he rushed to the scene to offer his assistance after the attack on Monday night.
On Wednesday night, he gathered some 100 members of the Jewish community to pray for the health of those wounded in the attack, and to remember those who were killed.
“All of us are present together today. The attackers did and do not differentiate between us,” said Teichtal.
“They didn’t only attack Berlin, Germany or the Jews. But rather they attacked the people who believe in a world of democracy.”