Yuval Abebeh
Sept 29, 2004 - On the eve of the Sukkot holiday, Yuval Abebeh, 4, and Dorit Benisian, 2, both of Sderot, were killed by a Kassam rocket fired from Gaza.
Yuval and Dorit, cousins and children of immigrants from Ethiopia, were visiting their grandmother. They were playing outside the house, on Haggai Street, under an olive tree, when they were directly hit by the Kassam rocket. Suffering massive injuries, both died shortly afterwards in hospital. About 30 people were wounded in the attack, for which Hamas claimed responsibility.
Yuval's mother described the last few moments of her son's short life: "We were sitting outside my mother's house. My son was playing. Everything was normal. I watched him. He was having so much fun. Suddenly there was a distant explosion. We understood it was a Kassam, but didn't stop to think where it had landed. And then there was another explosion right next to me. Everything was black. Everyone was screaming. I searched for my Yuval. Suddenly I saw him next to me. His body was mutilated. Yuval was everything to me," she said. Yuval was deeply attached to his mother, having lost his father, Undeshaw, as a baby. The couple, who immigrated from Ethiopia, were married in Israel and settled in Sderot in 1998.
Boaz Dasta, who lives across the street from where the rocket fell, said that his son, also 4, was a friend of Yuval Abebeh's, and was excited when he saw Yuval on the television. He asked, "'What is Yuval doing on TV?'" said Dasta, adding that he hasn't yet figured out how to explain to his son that Yuval won't be returning. Instead he told him that Yuval was hurt. "How will he understand this, he is so small." Yuval
Yuval Abebeh was buried in the Sderot cemetery. He is survived by his mother, Asraso, and four siblings.