Sgt. Ma'ayan Na'im
July 11, 2004 - Sgt. Ma'ayan Na'im, 19, of Bat Yam, was murdered and 33 others were wounded when a bomb exploded at a bus stop in downtown Tel Aviv at about 7 a.m. One person was critically wounded, four were moderately wounded, and the rest were lightly hurt.
Fatah's Al Aksa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the atrocity.
Na'im was on her way to her Logistics Corps base at Tel Hashomer when she was slain. The attack was the first inside the Green Line since March, when two suicide bombers murdered 10 Israelis at Ashdod Port. It was also the first attack since the International Court of Justice issued its opinion on July 9 that Israel's anti-terrorist fence is illegal.
"She was such a beautiful person," family friend Liron Aruch told Army Radio. "We never believed that we would have to talk about her in the past tense. It's impossible to describe how this girl, such a beautiful flower, leaves home in the morning and does not return to her family."
Naim's sister, Meital, recalled that Ma'ayan had dreamed of studying and traveling after the army. "Just yesterday we talked about traveling," she said.
"Ma'ayan was really someone special," said a cousin, Meirav Belisa. "She was an outstanding girl, charming and beautiful, but if I could point to one outstanding quality of hers it would be her modesty. Ma'ayan is not only a loss to her family, but to all the people of Israel. She excelled in everything she did -- she had an outstanding matriculation and lots of dreams that won't be fulfilled now."
Sgt. Ma'ayan Na'im is survived by her parents, Mazal and Chaim, two older brothers and two older sisters. She was buried in the Holon Military Cemetery.