St.-Sgt. Pavel Slotsker, 20, from Dimona (top right), will be buried Monday. Lt. Hanan Barak, 20, from Arad, buried Sunday night in Arad's military cemetery - Photo: IDF; bottom: Cpl. Gilad Shalit was taken captive - Photo: AP

Two IDF soldiers were killed, another one severely injured and a fourth was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists today.

Israel Defense Forces' First Lieutenant Hanan Barak, 21, of Arad and Staff Sergeant Pavel Slutzker, 20, of Dimona were killed in a raid by Palestinian gunmen in the Kerem Shalom region near the Gaza border early Sunday morning.

Cpl. Gilad Shalit was also abducted when an 8-man Hamas Authority cell crawled into an Israeli outpost via an underground tunnel, attacked three Israeli targets, killing the two soldiers and making off with Shalit into Gaza.

Gaza-based diplomats involved in intensive mediation efforts to secure Shalit's release have said that he is wounded but in good condition. The diplomats said they knew both where the soldier was being held and the organizational affiliation of those holding him, but refused to relay that information to reporters.

Currently, efforts to locate Shalit and bring him back home are concentrated on intelligence gathering and diplomacy. Preparing for a possible incursion of Gaza, the IDF is also amassing troops and heavy equipment (tanks, APCs, bulldozers) on the border.

Pavel Slutzker was an outstanding student who planned to study medicine. He even received a paid scholarship from Bar Ilan University. Pavel's family immigrated to Israel in 1991. "We all feared that something would happen to him in the army," said his brother, who heard of the incident while at work. The funeral took place this morning at 10:00 A.M. Slutzker will be laid to rest in Dimona's military cemetery.

An officer in the IDF's armored corps, Barak was born in Arad and graduated from ORT High School in the city. Barak's mother told of how she felt confident that nothing would happen to him. She said that Barak arrived to his assignment in the Gaza sector this past Thursday. Barak is survived by his two parents, a brother, and a sister. He was buried yesterday.

May their memories be forever blessed and may their families and friends be comforted with all those who mourn for them in Zion.

One was guarding the mall. The others were doing their shopping. All were killed by an Arab bomber because they were Jews living in the land of Israel.

The lives of five innocent people were cut short by an Arab suicide bomber on Monday at the entrance to the Sharon shopping mall in Netanya. Another fifty were wounded in the attack, some critically. At 11:30 in the morning, a female police officer and passersby identified a man approaching the Sharon Mall in Netanya as a suicide bomber, and shouted out warnings. The security guards stopped the man, pushing him up against the wall, and nearby police officers rushed to help. At that point, the bomber detonated the explosives he had in his bag.

The Islamic Jihad terror group took credit for the devastation. (Note: Terror organizations such as Hamas have candidates running for official positions in the upcoming Palestinian Authority elections.)

These are the stories of the five Jewish men and women of valor who were murdered in this attack:

Haim Amram, 26, of Netanya. Haim Amram had worked as a security guard at the Sharon Mall for the past three years and was also on duty during the suicide bombing there four months ago. His cousin, Lior Golan, said Monday night that Haim loved his job, despite the low pay, and had worked as a security guard since completing his military service in the Israel Air Force. Before the Sharon Mall, he had worked in Ra'anana. "He was an incredible person. Very quiet and humble, he wanted to study psychology. He wanted to save everyone, and that's how he was killed. There's no doubt this is a hero's death," Lior said. Haim attended Sinai Elementary School in Netanya and then a yeshiva high school. He liked to work out at the Wingate Institute gym, and recently bought a motorcycle. He was hoping to study psychology after completing his matriculation exams for university. Haim had proposed to his girlfriend. The two planned on marrying at the start of the summer and to travel abroad. Haim Amram was buried in Netanya. He is survived by his parents, Esther and David, and three siblings - Vicky, Guy and Keren.

Alexandra Garmitzky, 65, of Netanya. Alexandra Garmitzky and her husband Vichislav had only one child. Dr. Andrei Garmitzky is a urologist at the Hillel Yafeh Medical Center in Hadera. As soon as he heard about the bombing at the Sharon Mall in Netanya, he telephoned his mother, knowing that she often went shopping there. When he failed to reach her, he hurried to the emergency room at his hospital to look for her among the wounded. He identified her body at the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir. Alexandra and her husband immigrated to Israel eight years ago from Ukraine, where she worked as a bookkeeper. On Monday morning she went out on an errands to the local National Insurance Institute branch, and later stopped in to do some shopping at the Sharon Mall. Alexandra Garmitzky will be buried in the cemetery at Kibbutz Bahan. She is survived by her husband Vichislav, and only son, Andrei, 41.

Daniel Golan, 45, of Nahariya. Daniel Golani was the owner of a chain of clothing stores called 35th Ave and was a well-known figure in Nahariya. He was in Netanya Monday to finalize a rental agreement for a store in Sharon mall. His friend of 25 years and business partner, David Barak, spoke with Golani minutes before the blast. "He was really happy and told me he had closed the rental deal. Apparently he accompanied a friend who was with him to the mall entrance and a few minutes later the blast occured," Barak said. Daniel Golani was originally from Netanya and settled in Nahariya 16 years ago. He was involved in local politics and was supposed to supervise several polling booths in his neighborhood on behalf of Ron Frumer's campaign headquarters in the upcoming municipal elections. "Dani was a wonderful person," said Zion Lankri, a Nahariya local council member, who was friends with Golani for nearly 18 years. "It was hard to separate him from his smile. He loved to live, and loved his family. This was a person one could always trust and turn to during difficult times. He was a rock. He wasn't scared of anything." David Rosen, also a member of the Nahariya local council, said that Golani would help the needy, and could always be trusted to come to the aide of those who needed it. Daniel Golani will be buried in his home town of Netanya. He is survived by his wife Ronit, and their two daughters - Shir, 17, and Raz, 14.

Elia Rosen, 38, of Bat Hefer. Elia Rosen had gone with a friend to the Sharon Mall to shop for clothes. A psychologist by training, she was due to start a new job next week as a project manager at Comverse, a hi-tech firm. Elia was born and raised in Ramat Aviv, and attended the Alliance High School there. She later received a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in education. Before her career change, she diagnosed learning disabilities in teenagers and young adults. Eight years ago, the Rosen family had moved to moshav Bat Hefer. Her husband Gadi said she had never expressed any concerns about the security situation and felt completely comfortable living close to the seam line. She always thought traffic accidents posed a greater threat than the security situation. Elia Rosen will be buried in the cemetery at Kibbutz Bahad. She is survived by her husband Gadi, 41, and their three children - sons Ro'i, 5, and Gal, 12, and a 10-year-old daughter, Noam.

Keinan Tsuami, 20, of Petah Tikva. Keinan Tsuami was killed several minutes after completing his shopping at the Sharon Mall, where he had gone with a childhood friend. They were already at the exit, when the friend realized he had forgotten something inside. Handing Keinan his jacket to hold, he went back indoors. Keinan, who remained outside, was killed in the blast. When his friend managed to exit the mall later, he found only his own jacket lying on the ground. The youngest in the family, Keinan attended Feinstein Junior High and graduated from the Ankori High School in Hod Hasharon. "There are no words to describe Keinan. He was a happy kid, a soulful child with a love of life," said a friend. His uncle, Moshe Tsuami, said that his nephew had postponed his enlistment into the IDF in order to help his father in the family carpentry shop. Lilach, Keinan's girlfriend, is unable to believe what has happened: "We celebrated his birthday just a month ago, all the signs are sill in his room, the teddy bear is still in the room. We were together for a year, I don't really understand how he left me like this. I don't believe it, my poor Keinan. Everyone told him to be careful of motorcycles - and in the end, this is what happened." Keinan Tsuami will be buried in the Segula Cemetery in Petah Tikva. He is survived by his parents, Shmuel and Mazal, and two older brothers, Lior and Ohad.

Hadera fatalities: top left - Michael Koifman, top right - Jamil Ka'adan, bottom left - Yaakov Rahmani, bottom right - Sabiha Nissim.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at 3:35 p.m. on Wednesday while standing in a queue of people in the market at the center of the northern town of Hadera.

A local shop owner said he heard the explosion in the popular Barzilai felafel stand, which has been run by the same family for some 60 years, and went outside to offer assistance. Within minutes, however, emergency services were already at the scene.

He said parts of bodies had been blown several meters away from the scene of the explosion. The blast wrecked parts of the stand and neighboring stores, as well as eucalyptus trees in the area.

Hadera Mayor Haim Avitan was leaving the municipality building at the time of the explosion. "I thought at first that it was a sonic boom, but I was told it was a terrorist attack," said Avitan, who went to the scene moments after being informed.

"It really looked like a scene after a pogrom, but the security forces reached the area within minutes and our wardens with their help ensured that the roads were kept clear to evacuate the casualties."

Apart from the suicide bomber, four people were killed at the scene and another who was critically wounded died on the operating table at Hadera's Hillel Yaffe Hospital. Two people suffering from serious injuries were transferred to Kfar Saba's Meir Hospital and Sheba Hospital at Tel Hashomer.

Among the casualties was one of the owners of the felafel stand, who had taken over from his brother who had been there from the morning, as well as a worker and some customers.

According to reports, the bomb contained some five kilograms of explosives, as well as scores of metal balls and nails to maximize casualties.

Keren Davido, a local resident, told reporters that if the attacker had struck in the morning, the overall casualty total would have been much higher.

They came in the night, our families who were "disengaged" from their homes, their livelihoods, their very lives. Not before stopping at the Kotel, however. Drawing close to HaShem, pouring their hearts out at the Western Wall, they maintained their faith and their trust in the G-d of Avraham, Yitzak and Yacov and then headed on through the night.

Students had been busy in the daylight hours. The caravans which would now be "home," 12'x30' units as opposed to the three and four bedroom homes on the Mediterranean seashore, had been scrubbed and painted, beds prepared where available, and welcome signs put out for each family.

The people of Ariel gathered and waited. Mixed emotions were clear on the faces of the crowd that awaited the busloads of families. Students, scouts, community and college administrators, families, and "settlers" from the surrounding communities drew together in support.

In Israel we know that there is nothing we know for certain except that our G-d reigns. Our lives, our futures, our Land, remains in His hands. We have His sure promises though His timetable is not clearly set out for us.

It was apparent that night and in the days that have followed that the people of Netzarim have clearly kept their lives in G-d's hands. Following Sukkot, the families moved on to various destinations, many still finding temporary shelter, as the college students returned and needed their housing. At least one of the families was moving to the Negev to rebuild their agricultural business. As we celebrated Simchat Torah, we were reminded of the blessing and strength of the faith which holds the people of Israel such as these families from Netzarim. It is the joy of the Lord. Baruch HaShem!