Nov 21, 2006 - Yaakov Yaakobov, 43, of Sderot, died following a day-long struggle by doctors to save his life, after he was mortally wounded by a Kassam rocket fired in the morning by Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip.
Yaakobov was working as a forklift operator in the town's Ofe Kor poultry processing factory when Sderot's incoming-Kassam alarm sounded at 8:20 a.m. His fellow workers managed to reach the safety of a reinforced room, but Yaakobov failed to get to the shelter before the Kassam hit. The rocket penetrated the plant roof and exploded near him, fatally wounding him in the head with shrapnel.
The Yaakobov family came to Israel from the Caucasus region of Russia some 12 years ago. When their father was hit by the Kassam, Yaakobov's two sons were at home, because like many Sderot children they were afraid to go to school due to the Kassam threat. The boys' mother, Purim, regretted that they had not had a chance to see him a last time, because he had left for work before they awoke. The oldest son's bar mitzva was scheduled for next month.
Yaakov Yaakobov was buried at the Sderot Cemetery. He is survived by his wife and two sons, Solomon (12 and 11 months) and Chanan (12). He was also the guardian of three orphaned nieces.