The 18-year-old Israeli worked as a nanny at Kibbutz Be’eri, in southern Israel; she had been missing since October 7.
Israeli Celeste Fishbein, who was kidnapped by Hamas and found dead, lived in a kibbutz in southern Israel, in Be’eri, one of the largest of the 12 villages that make up the Eshkol regional council, which lies along the border with the Gaza Strip.
Celeste Fishbein died after being kidnapped by Hamas
The community was one of Hamas’ targets on October 7, when terrorists invaded the area, murdered residents and kidnapped others – including Celeste, as the family of Brazilian Jews called her. Her name was Tchelet Fishbein Za’arur. She was 18 years old and worked as a childcare worker.
Although military service is compulsory for all Israelis when they turn 18, Celeste didn’t sign up to serve in the army because she still had shrapnel in her body from a rocket that fell on the kibbutz where she lived, according to family members.
Celeste came from a family of Brazilian Jews who moved to Israel. The young woman, who did not have Brazilian nationality – her father is Israeli – was the daughter of Gladys Fishbein and granddaughter of Sarah Fishbein, Brazilians who were born in the municipality of Guaratinguetá, a city in São Paulo about 190 kilometers from the capital São Paulo, and who were currently living in Israel.
Family went through another terrorist attack
Celeste’s mother is Flora Rosenbaum’s cousin-sister. On August 9, 2001, Flora, who was traveling to Israel with her husband, Jorge Balazs, and stepdaughter Deborah Brando Balazs da Costa Faria, was injured in an attack. The family was passing in front of the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem when a Palestinian suicide bomber detonated a bomb.
The explosion left 18 victims and around a hundred injured. One of those killed was Flora’s husband, Jorge Balazs, 69. She was admitted to Hadassah Ein Keren hospital in Jerusalem for 17 days with burns and shrapnel wounds.
On Monday 16, Flora posted a video on her social media account appealing for Celeste’s life. “I’m Flora, I was the victim of a terrorist attack in 2001. I lost my husband in the attack. My stepdaughter was also injured. Now we have a cousin kidnapped by Hamas. Another Brazilian in their midst,” she said.
Disappearance
On Friday night, the day before the terrorist attack, Celeste had dinner with her 94-year-old grandmother, her mother and her brother. She then went home. The attacks began on Saturday at around 6.30am. According to family members, on the day of the attack, she even hid in a bunker with her boyfriend.
“It was a large-scale attack and then the terrorists started arriving and attacking this and other places in the region,” Mario Ricardo Fishbein, Celeste’s uncle, told Estadão on Sunday 15. “They would burn the houses so people would leave and then shoot or kidnap them.”
She remained in contact with family members via WhatsApp. The last message sent by Celeste in the family group was at around 11.25am on Saturday – five hours after the attack began. On Saturday 14th, after a week missing, the family received confirmation from the Israeli army that she was among the 199 hostages captured by Hamas.