The attack also cost the leg of an IDF officer – who lives in an outpost in the Shomron that the army and government are considering demolishing.
Rivlin, 51, was a father of five children: Nir, Ya'rah, Omer, Assaf and Gilad. He and his wife Simcha were founding members of the community of Ganei Tal in Gush Katif, Gaza 27 years ago. He was engaged in preparations for putting up a security fence around Morag when Palestinian terrorists opened fire and detonated a large explosive that killed him.
"The Professional of Fence Men," Rivlin was called in Gush Katif. Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reports that whenever there was a problem with an electronic fence, they would call Gideon, even if was in the middle of the night or on the Sabbath. No one else knew how to deal with the fence or the software controlling it the way he did, Huberman was told. "Rivlin was able to identify holes made in the fence even before the army knew where to begin looking for them. He was totally dedicated to it."
Just this past Thursday, an Arab terrorist infiltrated into the areas of his greenhouses in Ganei Tal. Rivlin was on the scene with the IDF forces until the terrorist was killed.
Gideon and Simcha, just a week after their wedding, moved to Kfar Darom as part of the core-group planning to found Ganei Tal. There were no empty houses left, so he brought in an old bus, and they lived there for a while; the bus still stands aside his greenhouses. He was both a farmer and a security man.
"I first met Gideon on a Land of Israel study tour in Gaza," Huberman said. "He knew every stone in the Negev, and organized many tours. He served as a paratrooper in the army, and as Commander of the regional reserves unit. He also served, in between, as Land Knowledge Officer in the Southern Command."
In an unusual move, the army agreed to recognize Rivlin as an IDF casualty, and he was buried in a full military ceremony in Ganei Tal.
Meanwhile, Maj. Ophir Levias, one of the three soldiers who was wounded in yesterday's attack, is listed in “stable” condition in Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva – but has lost one leg. Doctors said the leg was traumatically amputated in the blast and that there was no option of reconstructive surgery. Upon his arrival in the trauma unit, he was suffering from shock caused by major blood loss, but doctors managed to stabilize his condition, and he is reported to be in relatively good spirits today.
Maj. Levias is the deputy commander of a Golani Brigade battalion and lives in an outpost in Samaria with his wife of 18 months. The outpost was established with the blessing of Prime Minister Sharon, and was approved by then-Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer of Labor. Today, however, it is threatened with demolition. "The wounded Maj. Levias, who lost his leg in the service of defending the State of Israel, faces possible repayment in the form of the destruction of his home," says an acquaintance.
This morning, no one was hurt in two attacks against Israelis in Gush Katif: a shooting towards a position near N'vei Dekalim, and a mortar shell blast at another community.
Rivlin, 51, was a father of five children: Nir, Ya'rah, Omer, Assaf and Gilad. He and his wife Simcha were founding members of the community of Ganei Tal in Gush Katif, Gaza 27 years ago. He was engaged in preparations for putting up a security fence around Morag when Palestinian terrorists opened fire and detonated a large explosive that killed him.
"The Professional of Fence Men," Rivlin was called in Gush Katif. Arutz-7's Haggai Huberman reports that whenever there was a problem with an electronic fence, they would call Gideon, even if was in the middle of the night or on the Sabbath. No one else knew how to deal with the fence or the software controlling it the way he did, Huberman was told. "Rivlin was able to identify holes made in the fence even before the army knew where to begin looking for them. He was totally dedicated to it."
Just this past Thursday, an Arab terrorist infiltrated into the areas of his greenhouses in Ganei Tal. Rivlin was on the scene with the IDF forces until the terrorist was killed.
Gideon and Simcha, just a week after their wedding, moved to Kfar Darom as part of the core-group planning to found Ganei Tal. There were no empty houses left, so he brought in an old bus, and they lived there for a while; the bus still stands aside his greenhouses. He was both a farmer and a security man.
"I first met Gideon on a Land of Israel study tour in Gaza," Huberman said. "He knew every stone in the Negev, and organized many tours. He served as a paratrooper in the army, and as Commander of the regional reserves unit. He also served, in between, as Land Knowledge Officer in the Southern Command."
In an unusual move, the army agreed to recognize Rivlin as an IDF casualty, and he was buried in a full military ceremony in Ganei Tal.
Meanwhile, Maj. Ophir Levias, one of the three soldiers who was wounded in yesterday's attack, is listed in “stable” condition in Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva – but has lost one leg. Doctors said the leg was traumatically amputated in the blast and that there was no option of reconstructive surgery. Upon his arrival in the trauma unit, he was suffering from shock caused by major blood loss, but doctors managed to stabilize his condition, and he is reported to be in relatively good spirits today.
Maj. Levias is the deputy commander of a Golani Brigade battalion and lives in an outpost in Samaria with his wife of 18 months. The outpost was established with the blessing of Prime Minister Sharon, and was approved by then-Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer of Labor. Today, however, it is threatened with demolition. "The wounded Maj. Levias, who lost his leg in the service of defending the State of Israel, faces possible repayment in the form of the destruction of his home," says an acquaintance.
This morning, no one was hurt in two attacks against Israelis in Gush Katif: a shooting towards a position near N'vei Dekalim, and a mortar shell blast at another community.