St-Sgt Haim Yehezkel -Hezki- Gutman

June 15, 2002 - St.-Sgt. Haim Yehezkel (Hezki) Gutman, 22, of Beit El was one of two soldiers killed in a confrontation with terrorists near Alei Sinai and Dugit in the northern Gaza Strip.

The firefight took place at around 8 P.M. Saturday evening. Several hours earlier their deaths, the Givati unit succeeded in thwarting a large-scale terrorist attack, when they spotted a car rigged with 180 kilograms of explosives between Elei Sinai and Dugit in the northern Gaza Strip and blew it up. IDF troops combed the area in a search for additional explosive devices. One of the patrols ran into a Palestinian ambush and in the initial burst of fire, two soldiers from the Givati Brigade - St.-Sgt. Haim Yehezkel Gutman and St.-Sgt. Alexei Gladkov - were killed. In the ensuing gunfight, Lt. Anatoly Krasik and three Givati soldiers were wounded. Anatoly succumbed to his injuries on June 22.

Hezki Gutman, the third of eight children, attended the Beit El and Sha'alavim yeshiva high schools, and later studied at the pre-military religious academy on the Golan Heights before being inducted into the Givati Brigade in August 2000. After completing a medics' course, he was appointed company medic.

Itamar Ben-Amit, who grew up with Hezki in Beit El and was recruited into Givati together with him, said, "Hezki stood out because of who he was. He was one of the more prominent soldiers in his unit. He was a natural leader and he died fighting terrorists."

St.-Sgt. Haim Yehezkel (Hezki) Gutman was buried in Beit El. He is survived by his parents, Ya'akov and Bracha, and seven brothers and sisters.