St.-Sgt. Ofer Sharabi

Apr 10, 2003 - St.-Sgt. Ofer Sharabi, 21, of Givat Shmuel was killed when Palestinian terrorists opened fire before dawn on their base near Bekaot in the northern Jordan Valley.

At about 5:00 AM, two terrorists cut through the fence on a Golani training base in the Jordan Valley and opened fire on a tent in which soldiers were sleeping. St.-Sgt. Ofer Sharabi and St.-Sgt. Yigal Lifshitz and were killed, and nine other IDF soldiers were wounded in the attack. The two terrorists were killed by IDF forces. The PFLP and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

Ofer completed his high school studies at the religious boarding school Kfar Haroeh. Although he was exempted from combat duty, he fought to serve in the Golani Brigade. As company sergeant-major, he was a father figure to the young recruits. He was particularly attentive to those soldiers with financial difficulties.

Ofer's aunt Clara Hakhmon said, "He was concerned for everyone, even his 83-year-old grandmother, and would come to visit her with soldiers from his company. His mother Shoshana would bake cookies for the soldiers on the base." Shoshana was recently dismissed from her job, and Ofer told his mother that she shouldn't worry because he was going to sign up for permanent army service and would be able to help support the family with his salary.

St.-Sgt. Ofer Sharabi was buried in the military section of the Segula cemetery in Petah Tikva. He is survived by his parents, Yosef and Shoshana, and four siblings.