Capt. Hagai Bibi

Dec 22, 2003 - Capt. Hagai Bibi, 24, of Maaleh Adumim was one of two IDF officers killed when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire and threw hand grenades as they emerged from their jeep on the Kissufim-Gush Katif road in the Gaza Strip.

Shortly after 19:00, forces were deployed to the Kissufim crossing near the Gush Katif junction, after receiving reports that an armed terrorist had been spotted in the area. The soldiers got out of their jeeps to begin searching the area. Givati company commander Capt. Hagai Bibi and his deputy, Lt. Leonardo Weissman, were mortally wounded when the terrorist opened fire and threw a hand grenade at them. The terrorist was killed by IDF forces. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

Hagai Bibi, the eldest child of Nissim and Zvia, grew up in Maaleh Adumim. His mother related, "For nine months I searched the dictionary for the most beautiful name, until I decided to call him Hagai. He was a beautiful child, tall, and always smiling at me."

Hagai's father Nissim talked about his son: "The army came first for him. He simply loved the army and wasn't afraid of anything. He left three girlfriends for the army, explaining that his soldiers came first." Hagai served in Lebanon, and after the IDF withdrawal was stationed in Gaza, where he served for the last three years. "Even when he was wounded and was given 30 days leave, he returned to his unit after two days, with his burned hand in bandages," said Nissim Bibi.

Just a month ago, Hagai signed up for eight more years of army service. "I told him he should study, that we, his family, are his soldiers, but he answered that his soldiers needed him more," said his father. When Hagai's grandmother asked him why he had to continue serving in the army, he answered, "If I don't do it, grandma, who will?"

The walls of Hagai's small room are covered with the commendations he received throughout his years of army service, including commendations from the Chief of the General Staff and the OC of the IDF Southern Command.

Capt. Hagai Bibi was buried in the Mt. Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. He is survived by his parents, Nissim and Zvia, and two sisters - Lilach, 21, and Moran, 18.