Families of elderly Sderot residents sue municipality and Motorola for bomb shelter malfunction

The families of the elderly victims murdered by Hamas terrorists in Sderot on October 7 are suing the Sderot Municipality and Motorola for NIS 12 million, alleging gross negligence. The relatives claim that the city’s smart protection system—which is meant to save lives—turned a bomb shelter into a death trap.

The lawsuit, filed by attorney Omer Khartoum, focused on the shelter doors designed to open automatically when alarms sounded, remained shut on October 7. "We don’t want money; we want justice. How could a shelter, designed to save lives, become a place of death?" one of the plaintiffs asked.

The elderly victims were on their way to enjoy a spa day when they stopped their minibus to fix a flat tire. As Hamas launched the deadly attack and sirens alarmed, they tried to enter the shelter. However, the automatic doors failed to open, leaving them stranded. Hamas terrorists soon arrived and killed them.

Iris Zarbailov, whose mother was one of the victims, recounted her final conversation with her mother at 6:57 a.m. on October 7.

"She told me that they were locked outside of the shelter while sirens and explosions blared around them. You could hear the fear in her voice." Zarbailov’s mother had even taken photos, intending to prove the shelter doors were faulty, but she was killed before she could.

"This lawsuit isn’t just for our families, it’s for all those who lost their lives due to this negligence," Zarbailov said. "October 7 was a day of mourning for the entire Jewish people."

Sashon Yakovov, another plaintiff, expressed the ongoing pain one year after the massacre. "I’m still shattered inside. I'm hoping for justice, that all the hostages will return home, and that the sacrifices made won’t be in vain. Our people deserve to live in a free and safe Jewish state."

The victims of this incident are Michal Zarbailov, Lilia Giler, Valery Friedman, Yaakov Mortov, Vladimir Popov and his wife Sofia Popov, Lyudmila Furman, Igor Kortzer, Berta Batsin Shamyaev, Tatiana Steinman, Zina Beilin, Nadezhda Sprebchikov, and her sister Natalya Tomayev.

A failed system

Attorney Omer Haralaf, representing the families, stressed that the shelter’s system should have opened the doors when the red alert sounded, giving the group a chance to lock themselves inside. "Had the system worked as intended, these innocent lives could have been saved," he said, criticizing both the municipality and Motorola for failing to ensure the system’s functionality.

The lawsuit is expected to spark significant public debate about Israel’s readiness for emergencies. The courts will determine whether the system's failure played a role in the deaths of these 13 elderly civilians and decide who should be held accountable.

The municipality of Sderot expressed its condolences to the families.

A spokesperson from Motorola Solutions later expressed condolences but added, "as this is an ongoing legal matter, we cannot comment further at this time.”