St.-Sgt. Yaniv Levy

Oct 28, 2001 - St.-Sgt. Yaniv Levy, 22, of Zichron Yaakov was killed by Palestinian terrorists in a drive-by machine-gun ambush near Kibbutz Metzer in northern Israel.

St.-Sgt. Yaniv Levy, a soldier in the Combat Engineering Brigade, was gunned down by terrorists who drove up to him at the Kibbutz Metzer junction. According to eyewitnesses, one of the terrorists aimed his rifle at the IDF vehicle in which Levy was sitting and opened fire from close range. At least 15 rounds, apparently from an automatic rifle, struck the car. A statement issued by Fatah's Tanzim al-Aksa brigades claimed responsibility for the assassination in retaliation for the killing by the IDF of one of the group's commanders in the Bethlehem region.

Yaniv was to have concluded his army service on November 15, three days after his brother Hadar is scheduled to begin his army service.

Amit Avni, a close friend, told of his early days in the army with Levy, both members of a close-knit group of high school buddies in Zichron Yaakov. "We were conscripted first, and we both went to the combat engineers. He really loved the army, which is why he signed on for the regular army," Avni said, adding that Levy extended his military service to finish a training track with the soldiers he taught.

Another close friend of Levy's is St.-Sgt. Benny Avraham, one of three soldiers kidnapped by Hizbullah from Mount Dov on October 7, 2000. The two served together and finished the sergeants' course together.

St.-Sgt. Yaniv Levy was buried in Zichron Yaakov. He is survived by his parents Eliahu and Rahel, and brothers Erez, 24, and Hadar, 18.