Sgt. Ophir Kitt, 19, of Jerusalem, was buried this afternoon in Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery, and Sgt. Aviv Izak, 19, of Kfar Saba, was laid to rest shortly afterwards in his hometown\'s military cemetery. The two were killed on Friday when they went to offer help to a jeep stuck in the sand in the Dugit area of northern Gaza, at the behest of Arabs standing nearby. The jeep then exploded, killing the two and injuring a third soldier who had remained in the army vehicle. Immediately after the blast, the IDF troops came under Palestinian gunfire.
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said that the suicide terrorist had planned to carry out a much larger attack within Green-Line Israel, and the assumption is that when he got stuck, he decided to explode his charge on the two soldiers. The jeep had earlier been prevented from passing through a roadblock that the army was in the midst of removing; the roadblock was restored after the attack. PA sources originally claimed that the two soldiers had died in a training accident. The IDF strenuously denied this report, and noted that Hamas had even taken responsibility for the killings. The IDF spokesman acknowledged that the suicide terrorist was probably on his way to perpetrate an attack inside [pre-1967] Israel, and noted, \"the fact that Israel is carrying out its part in the Tenet Understandings and is removing checkpoints so as to make life easier for the Palestinian residents aided the terrorist in his intentions.\"
Ophir\'s father said that he spoke with his son 15 minutes before the attack, and that his son told him, \"Abba, I\'m not afraid to die for the country if I have to.\" The family lost their older son to cancer at age 16 eight years ago; one son, 16, now remains.
Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said that the suicide terrorist had planned to carry out a much larger attack within Green-Line Israel, and the assumption is that when he got stuck, he decided to explode his charge on the two soldiers. The jeep had earlier been prevented from passing through a roadblock that the army was in the midst of removing; the roadblock was restored after the attack. PA sources originally claimed that the two soldiers had died in a training accident. The IDF strenuously denied this report, and noted that Hamas had even taken responsibility for the killings. The IDF spokesman acknowledged that the suicide terrorist was probably on his way to perpetrate an attack inside [pre-1967] Israel, and noted, \"the fact that Israel is carrying out its part in the Tenet Understandings and is removing checkpoints so as to make life easier for the Palestinian residents aided the terrorist in his intentions.\"
Ophir\'s father said that he spoke with his son 15 minutes before the attack, and that his son told him, \"Abba, I\'m not afraid to die for the country if I have to.\" The family lost their older son to cancer at age 16 eight years ago; one son, 16, now remains.