Ayala-Haya (Ella) Abukasis
Jan 21, 2005 - Ayala-Haya (Ella) Abukasis, 17, of Sderot died of wounds suffered on January 15 when a Qassam rocket landed near her and shrapnel penetrated her cerebellum, leaving her brain dead. Kept on life support throughout the week, her parents agreed to stop treatment when doctors told them there was no chance of recovery.
On Saturday afternoon (Jan 15), the Abukasis family was at Ella's grandmother's home celebrating the birthday of one of the granddaughters. From there she went with her younger brother Tamir to activities with Bnei Akiva. They were returning home when the siren sounded, giving them 20 seconds warning of an incoming Qassam rocket. They did not have time to take cover, so she shielded Tamir, who escaped with relatively minor wounds when the rocket fell and exploded alongside them, and she was fatally wounded.
Ella's father Yonatan said that she had acted like the guardian of her 10-year-old brother from the outset of the Qassam rocket attacks on Sderot. She accompanied him everywhere, slept alongside him, waited outside the bathroom for him and went with him to the computer on the second floor of the family's home.
Relatives stayed by her bedside, along with dozens of friends and well-wishers, praying and reading psalms for her recovery. Special prayer assemblies were held in Sderot and Jerusalem. The family changed Ella's name to Ayala-Haya in a traditional bid for divine mercy. However, doctors told the family there was no chance of recovery. On Friday morning, after the family consulted medical experts and rabbis, including Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar, the parents agreed to stop the treatment that was keeping her alive.
Ayala-Haya (Ella) Abukasis, who was laid to rest in Sderot, is survived by her parents, Yonatan and Sima, her brothers Ran and Tamir, and sister Keren.
Thousands attended the funeral, where her father read a note his daughter had penned shortly before her death: "Sometimes we tend to forget that life will be over one day, and we don't know when that day will come, and praise is always voiced too late, so in order for that not to happen, I've chosen to tell you what a wonderful person you are. Tell people that you love them and care about them."