Sgt.-Maj.(res.) Avraham Ezra

Mar 3, 2002 - Sgt.-Maj.(res.) Avraham Ezra, 38, of Kiryat Bialik was one of 10 soldiers and civilians killed when terrorists opened fire at an IDF roadblock north of Ofra in Samaria.

Shortly after 6:30 on Sunday morning, a Palestinian sniper opened fired at an army roadblock 1.5 kilometers north of Ofra on the Ramallah-Nablus road from his carbine, killing 10 soldiers and civilians and wounding four, before escaping unharmed. With his first shots, the gunman killed the three soldiers deployed behind concrete blocks surrounding the roadblock. Soldiers sleeping in the adjacent building were alerted by the gunfire and raced out to the roadblock, only to be shot dead. Also killed were civilians and soldiers who arrived by car at the roadblock.

The reserve company's sergeant, Avraham (Avi) Ezra, arrived on the scene in a patrol jeep after the soldiers at the checkpoint had radioed for help. When Ezra tried to aim at the sniper, he was shot and killed.

According to his brother Hezi, Avi went to his service in the reserves with a "heavy heart". "This was suppose to be his last reserve duty. He told me, "This time it is different." Still, his brother says, Ezra was happy to serve with his unit.

Avi grew up north of Haifa in Kiryat Haim with his parents, Carmel and Ahuva and after marriage settled in nearby Kiryat Bialik. He worked many years as a maintenance man for Rafael, the Israel Armament Development Authority, and later as an electrician in Kibbutz Ayalon.

Sgt.-Maj. Avraham Ezra was buried in the Haifa military cemetery. He is survived by his wife, Ayelet Hashahar, and two children, Shalhevet (15) and Tiran (10).