St.-Sgt. Rotem Adam
May 14, 2004 - St.-Sgt. Rotem Adam, 21, of Rishon Lezion, was one of two IDF soldiers killed by Palestinian snipers while guarding comrades collecting the remains of five soldiers killed two days before, when their APC was hit by an anti-tank rocket in the southern Gaza Strip.
The squad commanded by Adam had taken up position on the upper floor of a building in the Rafah refugee camp, in order to protect the soldiers sifting the ground below. When an elderly woman asked permission to bring food into the building, Adam escorted her to the entrance and was shot and mortally wounded by a sniper when he opened the door.
Three soldiers who arrived in an APC to treat and evacuate Adam were also hit by sniper fire; one was killed and the others were moderately wounded.
Fellow soldier Chaim Freinte, a friend since elementary school in Rishon Lezion, related that Adam was a soldier who exuded confidence and inspired trust. He pointed to the humanitarian circumstances of his death as an example of his good-hearted nature.
Tomer Adam, Rotem's younger brother and also a soldier, said that, "Rotem was crazy about the army and conveyed this to others. He accepted every mission with love, even when he was called back from leave."
St.-Sgt. Rotem Adam is survived by his parents, two brothers, and a sister. He was buried in the Holon Military Cemetery.