Maj. Ashraf Hawash

Jan 9, 2001 - Maj. Ashraf Hawash, 28, of Beit Zarzir was one of four IDF soldiers from the Bedouin desert patrol unit who were killed when armed Palestinian terrorists from the southern Gaza Strip infiltrated into Israel and attacked an IDF post near Kerem Shalom.

At 4:30 AM, two armed Palestinian terrorists from the southern Gaza Strip, carrying explosive belts, assault rifles, grenades, and dressed in Palestinian Authority police uniforms, infiltrated into Israel and attacked an IDF post near Kerem Shalom. Major Ashraf Hawash, the commanding officer of the IDF patrol which arrived on the scene, was one of four IDF soldiers killed in the exchange of fire. The terrorists, one a member of the Palestinian Authority's naval force, and the second a Hamas operative, were killed. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

Ashraf Hawash, of the Mazarib Bedouin tribe, served in the army for more than seven years, serving beyond the Green Line with elite combat units. He had last spoken to his brother Asri on Tuesday night, and told him that he had set August 12 for his wedding.

A relative who recently talked with Ashraf on the phone said: "He called and said he wasn't coming home for Shabbat, because he preferred to let his soldiers go home. That is the way he always behaved - he was concerned first of all for his soldiers. He was the 'chief-of-staff' of the Bedouin community."

Maj. Ashraf Hawash was buried in the military section at the Beit Zarzir cemetery. He is survived by his parents, two brothers and four sisters.