Sgt. Michael Altfiro

Mar 20, 2002 - Sgt. Michael Altfiro, 19, of Pardes Hanna, was one of seven people killed in a suicide bombing of an Egged bus No. 823 traveling from Tel Aviv to Nazareth at the Musmus junction on Highway 65 (Wadi Ara) near Afula.

The attack occurred around 7 AM., shortly after the No. 823 Egged bus had stopped to take on passengers at the Umm el-Fahm junction. A few moments later, the terrorist detonated the explosives strapped to his body, blowing himself up and killing or wounding all of those with him on the bus, which was completely gutted. Sgt. Michael Altfiro was one of four soldiers and three civilians killed in the blast.

Michael Altfiro immigrated to Israel with his family from Moldavia in 1990. His father Alex said he was an avid reader of Hebrew and Russian language books. "He loved knowledge; he would watch trivia shows on television and know most of the answers," he said. "Just yesterday I hired a carpenter to come and expand Michael's bookshelf," he added. Michael would have been 20 in three weeks.

A Liverpool football fan, Altfiro took Bus 823 on Wednesday morning back to the army base, after having switched guard shifts on the IDF artillery base where he served, so he could be home to watch the team's game against AS Roma.

Sgt. Michael Altfiro was buried in the military section of the Pardes Hanna cemetery. He is survived by his parents, Alex and Rina, and his brother Stav (14).