Third Petty Officer Roi Oren

August 8, 2003 - Third Petty Officer Roi Oren, 20, of Moshav Udim, was killed in an assault on a Hamas bomb factory at the Askar refugee camp in Nablus, when the terrorists inside responded to calls to surrender by opening fire.

The soldiers' return fire detonated hundreds of kilograms of explosives in the third-floor bomb factory, collapsing the upper floors and killing two top Hamas fugitives.

3PO Oren was a member of the elite Israel Navy commando unit known as Shayetet 13 (Flotilla 13). The naval commandos had come to arrest Hamis Abu Salam, a bomb maker and leader of the Hamas military wing, Izzadin Kassam, and Fa'iz Sider, another wanted terrorist, who were organizing suicide bombing attacks.

After the building was surrounded, the soldiers called out to Abu Salam by a bullhorn demanding he turn himself in. Instead, at 4:40 a.m. Friday shots were fired from two rifles at windows on the third floor. Though he was wearing a helmet, Oren was mortally wounded in the head.

Oren's commanding officer praised him, calling him a friend who could always be depended on. Standing over his grave, he said, "It's hard to lose a fighter like you, who defended your family and friends with your body. After you were hit, your comrades battled for hours, just as you would have done."

Hundreds attended 3PO Roi Oren's funeral on Friday afternoon at his moshav. Oren is survived by his parents, Batsheva and Gadi, his older sister, Re'ut, and his younger brother, Ori, who is due to begin his military service soon. Ori was named after an uncle, a doctor who was killed during military service.