1st Lt. Malik Grifat

Sept 5: 1st Lt. Malik Grifat, 24, of Zarzir, was killed when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire from a crowded school towards an IDF patrol near Nisanit in the northern Gaza Strip.

1st Lt. Malik Grifat, deputy commander of the Givati company on patrol near the new security fence at the Nisanit bypass road, was mortally wounded by a shot in the head and died in hospital. Another soldier were injured. IDF forces returned fire, killing the Palestinian gunman. The Fatah al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades took responsibility for the attack.

Malik, the second son in a family of nine children, grew up in the Bedouin town of Zarzir in the Galilee. After completing his officer's training, he signed up for an additional year of army duty, which he would have completed in six months. His father is a Border Police veteran, and his older brother serves in the Israel Police.

A week before his death, Malik came home for the Jezreel Valley horse race, in which the horse owned by him and his nephew won the championship.

1st Lt. Malik Grifat was buried in the military section of the Zarzir cemetery. He is survived by his parents, Muhammed and Shara, two brothers and six sisters.