Hamas militants shoot dead Israeli rhythmic gymnastics champion

Former rhythmic gymnast Karina Pritika, who was once the champion of the Israeli junior championship, was shot dead by Hamas militants on Saturday, October 7. The 23-year-old girl was a participant in a music festival in Re'im kibbutz near the city of Ofakim, 30 kilometers from the Gaza Strip.

After the terrorist attack began, communication with her was cut off. The body of the former athlete was found on October 11.

Pritika was born in Portugal. She trained in the Maccabi Petah Tikva association under the guidance of Natalia Asmolova for a long time.

"She was a beautiful girl, always smiling. I have known her since she was 4 years old when she first came to training. She was in a group of six girls who constantly won all the competitions. At some point, she gave up sports and chose a different path in life. But when she was with us, she took part in the most important competitions in the uniform of the Israeli national team and was a gymnast with great potential," israelhayom.co.il quoted Asmolova as saying.

Her best friend Nicole Szymanski, who trained with her, couldn't hold back her tears.

"She was a girl who spread light everywhere, always smiling and full of optimism. A real golden girl. We haven't talked much in recent years, but we were very close as children. Her mom often took me to training. We won the Israeli championship together," Szymanski said.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, Hamas militants launched a massive attack on Israel on the morning of October 7, firing 5,000 rockets and then breaking through the fence near the Gaza Strip. They began committing atrocities, killing civilians.

The famous Israeli footballer Lior Asulin was killed in a terrorist attack. The 43-year-old ex-forward and his friends were celebrating his birthday at a music festival in Re'im kibbutz.

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