Sgt Kochava Polanski

Feb 14, 2001 - Sgt. Kochava Polanski, 19, of Ashkelon, 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.

Sergeant Kochava Polanski, a girl with short cropped hair and a big wide smile, served in the Tsrifin army base. She was due for discharge in a few months.

Kochava was the middle child, of a family that immigrated from the former Soviet Union in 1987. Kochava's brother Alex said, "When I heard about terror attacks, I felt sorry for the families, but now it is my family."

Friends say that she planned to take a long trip abroad after completing her military service.

Kochava is survived by a brother, 27 and a younger brother, 16. She was buried in Ashkelon.