Many of the 13 soldiers who were killed in the Jenin ambush yesterday were buried today. The names of the 13:
Maj. Oded Golomb, 32, Kibbutz Nir David
Sgt. Ronen Al-Shochat, 26, of Ramle
Sgt.-Maj. Tiran Arazi, 33, Hadera
Lt. Dror Bar, 28, Kibbutz Einat
Sgt.-Maj. Menashe Hava, 23, Kfar Sava
Lt. Eyal Yoel, 28, Kibbutz Ramat Rachel
Sgt.-Maj. Avner Yaskov, 34, Be\'er Sheva
Sgt.-Maj. Shmuel Dan Meizlish, 27, Moshav Hemed
Sgt.-Maj. Amit Busidan, 22, Bat Yam
Sgt.-Maj. Eyal Zimmerman, 22, Raanana
Sgt.-Maj. Yoram Levy, 33, Elad
Capt. Yaakov Azulai, 30, Migdal HaEmek
Sgt.-Maj. Eyal Azuri, 27, Ramat Gan
Following the tragic ambush, the country began to be deluged with rumors about various alleged \"catastrophes,\" including the deaths of the highest-ranking IDF officers, an Israeli helicopter attack that killed ten soldiers, and the kidnapping of Israelis. Yesterday evening, IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Ron Kitri denied the rumors, and explained how the situation came about:
\"We had to embargo our announcement concerning this event because we have a strict rule, and that is to first let the families know about what happened to their dear ones, and only then to share it with the public through the media. Unfortunately, during [yesterday\'s] event, we had a certain period of time in which we couldn\'t find three soldiers… and that is why we had the need to embargo all the information. We later found them, all dead unfortunately under the ruins of a certain building. Only then could we actually go to the families complete with that sad information and then come out to the media.\"
Kitri explained that 23 terrorist attacks originated in Jenin in the past 18 months, including several suicide attacks in Afula, Hadera, and other northern and northwestern areas of Israel. He said that the extent of the violent resistance the IDF faced in Jenin was \"probably the most bitter and harsh resistance that we faced among all other towns or cities of Judea and Samaria. We faced hundreds, maybe more than 1,000 live explosive charges, and other more sophisticated ones. We faced hundreds of hand grenades, and of course light weapons such as Kalachnikovs, light machine-guns, etc….\"
Kitri explained that yesterday\'s ambush attack was a combination of pre-placed bombs, snipers - who shot the soldiers one by one after they were already wounded - and a suicide bomber. The terrorists \"dragged two or three of the bodies to a neighboring house,\" which collapsed a few minutes later; apparently for blackmail/negotiating purposes.
Bulldozers began leveling many buildings this morning in the crowded Jenin quarter where yesterday\'s costly ambush took place, and where many armed terrorists continue to hide out and attack IDF soldiers. Over 200 of the terrorists had given themselves up by this afternoon.
Two other soldiers were also killed in yesterday\'s battles: 1st-Sgt. Gedalyahu Malik, 21, of Jerusalem was killed in a battle in Jenin last night, and will be laid to rest at Mt. Herzl this afternoon. Yesterday morning, Maj. Assaf Asulin was shot during a battle in Shechem, and later died of his wounds. He was to be married in five months; relatives said that he often secretly donated part of his salary to needy soldiers in his unit.
Maj. Oded Golomb, 32, Kibbutz Nir David
Sgt. Ronen Al-Shochat, 26, of Ramle
Sgt.-Maj. Tiran Arazi, 33, Hadera
Lt. Dror Bar, 28, Kibbutz Einat
Sgt.-Maj. Menashe Hava, 23, Kfar Sava
Lt. Eyal Yoel, 28, Kibbutz Ramat Rachel
Sgt.-Maj. Avner Yaskov, 34, Be\'er Sheva
Sgt.-Maj. Shmuel Dan Meizlish, 27, Moshav Hemed
Sgt.-Maj. Amit Busidan, 22, Bat Yam
Sgt.-Maj. Eyal Zimmerman, 22, Raanana
Sgt.-Maj. Yoram Levy, 33, Elad
Capt. Yaakov Azulai, 30, Migdal HaEmek
Sgt.-Maj. Eyal Azuri, 27, Ramat Gan
Following the tragic ambush, the country began to be deluged with rumors about various alleged \"catastrophes,\" including the deaths of the highest-ranking IDF officers, an Israeli helicopter attack that killed ten soldiers, and the kidnapping of Israelis. Yesterday evening, IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Ron Kitri denied the rumors, and explained how the situation came about:
\"We had to embargo our announcement concerning this event because we have a strict rule, and that is to first let the families know about what happened to their dear ones, and only then to share it with the public through the media. Unfortunately, during [yesterday\'s] event, we had a certain period of time in which we couldn\'t find three soldiers… and that is why we had the need to embargo all the information. We later found them, all dead unfortunately under the ruins of a certain building. Only then could we actually go to the families complete with that sad information and then come out to the media.\"
Kitri explained that 23 terrorist attacks originated in Jenin in the past 18 months, including several suicide attacks in Afula, Hadera, and other northern and northwestern areas of Israel. He said that the extent of the violent resistance the IDF faced in Jenin was \"probably the most bitter and harsh resistance that we faced among all other towns or cities of Judea and Samaria. We faced hundreds, maybe more than 1,000 live explosive charges, and other more sophisticated ones. We faced hundreds of hand grenades, and of course light weapons such as Kalachnikovs, light machine-guns, etc….\"
Kitri explained that yesterday\'s ambush attack was a combination of pre-placed bombs, snipers - who shot the soldiers one by one after they were already wounded - and a suicide bomber. The terrorists \"dragged two or three of the bodies to a neighboring house,\" which collapsed a few minutes later; apparently for blackmail/negotiating purposes.
Bulldozers began leveling many buildings this morning in the crowded Jenin quarter where yesterday\'s costly ambush took place, and where many armed terrorists continue to hide out and attack IDF soldiers. Over 200 of the terrorists had given themselves up by this afternoon.
Two other soldiers were also killed in yesterday\'s battles: 1st-Sgt. Gedalyahu Malik, 21, of Jerusalem was killed in a battle in Jenin last night, and will be laid to rest at Mt. Herzl this afternoon. Yesterday morning, Maj. Assaf Asulin was shot during a battle in Shechem, and later died of his wounds. He was to be married in five months; relatives said that he often secretly donated part of his salary to needy soldiers in his unit.