Brooklyn father of 7 siblings killed in fire returns from Israel after funerals

MIDWOOD, N.Y. (WABC) -- The father of the seven Brooklyn children who were killed in fire last week arrived at Newark Airport Thursday after traveling to Israel to lay his kids to rest.

Gabriel Sassoon is expected to first visit his wife, Gayle, at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, where she remains in critical condition.

His oldest daughter, Siporah, is also critical in the intensive care at the burn unit at Staten Island University Hospital North.

Before leaving Israel, he gave an interview in Hebrew to Israeli Channel 10, saying that the last time he saw his children was on Friday morning before they went to school.

"In the morning, it is always a mess," he said. "With everyone looking for their things before leaving for school."

He also commented on the two surviving victims.

"They told me that it usually takes a few months to get out of this situation," he said. "We ask that all the people of Israel pray for them. The doctors say they will come out of it, but I'm not so worried about that. They do not know what happened with the rest of the family, that's what I'm worried about."

He said that he visited with Siporah before making the trip.

"She woke up a bit and she said, 'What about mom?' he said. "I told her that she was at another hospital and being treated. She wanted to ask what happened with the others, but I did not know what to tell her. I think I'm the right person to tell them, but I really do not know how to tell them."

The fire has shattered the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in the Midwood neighborhood. Investigators believe it was caused when a hot plate left on for the Jewish Sabbath malfunctioned, setting off flames that incinerated the stairs of their home and trapped the children in their second-floor bedrooms as they slept.

The blaze killed four brothers -- David, Yishua, Moshe and Yaakub -- along with three sisters -- Elaine, Rivkah and Sara.

The tragedy had some reconsidering the practice of keeping hot plates on for the Sabbath, a common modern method of obeying tradition prohibiting the use of fire on the holy day.

Services were held in Brooklyn last Sunday for the siblings, with seven SUVs carrying seven small wooden caskets, before they were flown to Israel.