St.-Sgt. Ofir Magidish

Feb 14, 2001 - St.-Sgt. Ofir Magidish, 20, of Kiryat Malachi, was one of 8 Israelis killed when a Palestinian crashed a bus into a crowded bus stop at Azor junction, south of Tel Aviv. It was the deadliest Palestinian attack on Israelis in four years.

Staff Sergeant Ofir Magidish and Sergeant David Iluz grew up together in the same building on Rehov Herzl in Kiryat Malachi. They were also in the same class. They had missed the ride to their base by a couple of minutes and caught a bus to Azur junction, where they were killed in the bus attack.

Relatives said that Ofir, who served in army intelligence, had plans to study computer engineering upon completing his military duty next year. "We did everything to get Ophir out of Lebanon and never thought we would lose him in the center of the country," his family said yesterday.

He left behind his parents, a brother and a sister.

David and Opfir, life-long friends, were laid to rest side by side in the Kiryat Malachi cemetery.