18 years after the terrorist attack in Sinai: A monument was inaugurated in memory of the dead Israel today

18 years after the horrific attack on the Sinai Peninsula that claimed the lives of 34 people, 12 of them Israelis and injured 171 people, the monument was inaugurated in memory of the Israeli dead.

The monument is located on the Israeli side of the Menachem Begin border crossing in Taba, about 150 meters from the Hilton Taba Hotel where one of the attacks took place.

About 40 family members of the victims of the attack gathered at the entrance to the border crossing, some of them for the first time coming near the area where they lost their loved ones.

When accompanied by the director of the border crossing on behalf of the Airports Authority, Nissim Hazan worked hard to enable the construction of a monument in memory of the murdered.

Mentoring the monument, Photo: Yehuda Ben Itach

Eilat Mayor Eli Lankri, Nissim Hazem, Begin Crossing Director and Eilat Police Chief Nacham Finchi, Photo: Yehuda Ben Itach

The attack, which is considered the most severe in Sinai in which 34 tourists from all over the world were killed, and three car bombings were carried out simultaneously in two tourist centers in the Sinai Peninsula, took place on October 7, 2004, the evening of Simchat Torah.

The attack was carried out simultaneously in two areas: the Hilton Taba Hotel, located 150 meters from the Israeli border, and on Ras a-Shatan Beach, located near Nuweiba, about 50 kilometers south of the border line. Hilton Taba, and exploded near the reception.

Following the explosion, some of the hotel's rooms collapsed at the same time, a car bomb exploded on Ras a-Shatan beach near Nuweiba, and another car exploded in front of a restaurant at the resort.

Three Israelis were killed in terrorist attacks on Ras a-Shatan beach.

"We did not understand how much our lives have changed"

Tzaki Moriah, the father of Rotem Moriah, 27, from Tel Aviv who was killed in an explosion at the Hilton Taba Hotel, decided to commemorate the memory of his son in a monument.

For more than 5 years, he negotiated with various parties until approval was obtained for the erection of a monument in memory of all the Israeli victims in the two attacks.

"Our Rotem was on vacation in Sinai, there was a fire in the hut and his and Assaf Greenwald's passports were burned. They went to the reception at the Hilton Taba Hotel to wait for a fax from the Israeli consulate that issued temporary passports and then the explosion happened, both were killed on the spot."

The Sinai attack in 2004, Photo: Reuters

Edna, Assaf Greenwald's mother, said excitedly.

"We were on holiday in Sukkot on vacation in Eilat and Assaf was on vacation in Sinai. At night my brother-in-law came and said he saw a fireball exploding in the border area with Taba. "In the air so that he did not enter. On Sunday, two days after the attack, we were already called from Abu Kabir that we would come to identify Assaf. It was difficult to release the bodies from Sinai, so we contacted Arik Sharon who arranged for a helicopter to land in Eilat and transport the body.

The daughters of Tzila Niv, who was killed in a terrorist attack in the Hilton Taba, together with her son Gilad, 11, and Lior, 3, also attended the inauguration of the monument.

"The last time we were here was 18 years ago. We went on a family vacation and spent our last evening at the hotel laughing and having fun. Then the inferno car entered the hotel and exploded. We did not realize how much our lives had changed. We lost three family members - her mother, Gilad and Lior. "

Rachel and Reuven The parents of Roi Avisaf, 28, a resident of Kfar Saba who was killed in a terrorist attack in Ras a-Shatan, were unable to hold back tears.

"This is the first time we have come closest to Sinai. We have set up a scholarship fund at the IDC in Roy's name and every year we distribute scholarships and now we are inaugurating a monument in his memory and in memory of the victims of the attack. "His father also moved to Sinai and said it was heaven. At midnight his girlfriend called and told us I was next to Roi that a car exploded and he was no longer alive. The company stayed to keep Roi until they evacuated him to Israel with the help of Boogie Ya'alon - a family member."

Twelve Israelis were killed in terrorist attacks in the Sinai Peninsula: Rotem Moriah, 27, from Tel Aviv, Oleg Paizkov, 32, and his wife Ludmila, 30, from Bat Yam, Tzila Niv, 43, from Rakefet, and her sons Gilad, 11, and Lior, 3, Assaf Greenwald, 27, from Ramat Gan, Einat Naor, 27, from Kibbutz Zikim, Roi Avisaf, 28, resident of Kfar Saba, Hafez Hafi, 39, from Lod, Khalil Zeitonia, 10, from Jaffa, Michal Alexander, 27, from Ganei Tikva.

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