Levittown Native Shot To Death By Hamas In Israel

October 13, 2023

By Keith Heffintrayer | North Penn Now

A woman from Bristol Township has been identified as one of the victims of last weekend’s attacks on Israel by Hamas.

Carol SimanTov, 70, of Bristol Township’s Levittown section, was killed Saturday morning in the attack, LevittownNow.com confirmed.

The killing happened on the Nir Oz kibbutz, which is located approximately one mile from Gaza and close to the site of the Nova Music Festival, according to a report by Bob Ortega from CNN.

SimanTov was shot to death in her own safe room, and a report by Rob Vaughn at WFMZ-TV indicates SimanTov’s dog was killed as well.

SimanTov’s family was also killed in an apparently separate incident, according to the report.

According to those who went to high school with SimanTov, she graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1971. Wilson was later renamed Harry S. Truman High School.

SimanTov later moved from Bucks County to Israel, where she lived with family for many years while working in health clinics.

SimanTov’s sister, Terri Peterson, who lives in Hatfield Township, spoke with WFMZ on Thursday night about the loss of her sister.

“She was a wonderful sister; loved her children, her grandchildren,” said Peterson, in the report. “She did not make it into her safe room in time. And she had her beloved dog, her puppy Boxer, and the dog was shot and she was shot as well before she could get into her safe room.”

Carol SimanTov at a wedding.
Credit: Facebook

The report states SimanTov’s son, Johnny, daughter-in-law, Tamar, and their three children — Shahar and Arbel, age 5, and Omer, age 2 — were able to make it into their safe room. However, Hamas attackers set their house on fire, killing all five.

“The horror of it is unimaginable,” Peterson said, in the WFMZ report. “And we just pray for peace on all sides.”