Five-year-old Ido Avigal. Photo: Screenshot

Red alert sirens signaling an air attack sounded in southern Israel, interrupting the funeral Friday of five-year-old Israeli boy Ido Avigal, who was killed by a rocket fired at the southern city of Sderot from the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group.

Mourners attending the funeral in Kiryat Gat were forced to lay down on the floor and take cover just as Ido’s family carried out their eulogies, according to Israeli media outlet N12. Ido died from wounds caused by shrapnel after a Hamas rocket managed to damage the metal window of the bomb shelter in his residential home in Sderot, where he was sheltering with his family.

“Ido, I want to apologize to you. I am sorry I didn’t protect you. I am sorry I wasn’t hit by the shrapnel in your place. The other day you asked me: Dad, what will happen if there is a red alert siren and we are outside? I told you that as long as you are with me you will be protected – I lied,” Ido’s father Assaf Avigal said during the funeral.

Ido’s mother and sister, who were with the boy in the safe room were injured during the incident and remain in hospital.

“Ido with the beautiful eyes. We weep for you, beloved boy. Weep for your short, pure and innocent life, cut short by despicable Hamas,” said Israel President Reuven Rivlin, who offered his condolences to Ido’s family. “His father Assaf told me of his concern for his wife who was badly injured and is still in hospital, and of his broken heart at the loss of his son Ido.”

“In the ICU, I met six-year-old Noam, Ido’s cousin, who was also injured in the safe room. You will get stronger and grow, my dear Noam,” Rivlin said.