A brave Israeli woman has been hailed as a hero after she was hailed to death while trying to defend her home from Hamas militants.
Ravit Hana Asayag was shot in the mouth during a shootout with a heavily armed gang that invaded an Israeli settlement in the south of the country early Saturday morning.
19-year-old Rawit, an Israeli Border Force officer, was fatally wounded when he bravely stormed a wooden hut as Palestinian militants were hiding.
The teenager had cut short a holiday in New York to return to Israel to fight terrorists in the village of Yakhini, ten miles from the border with Gaza.
At his funeral in Ashdod, southern Israel, on Monday night, his commanding officer praised the teenage officer for his bravery.
Ravit Hana Asayag next to the sky. Ravit was shot in the mouth during a firefight with a heavily armed group that invaded an Israeli settlement in the south of the country early Saturday morning.
Ravit doing target practice. Rawit, a 19-year-old Israeli border guard officer, was fatally wounded when he bravely stormed a wooden hut where Palestinian militants were hiding.
Israeli officers fired back at the suspect after the Hamas attacks in Yakhini
Commander Baruch Honig told the mourners. “Ravit insisted on going in first. He was killed, but he saved the unit, he saved the operation.
“We were in the olive grove and we were fighting for several hours. We shot eight of them. Ravit killed all three.
‘We thought they were all dead. We cleared the area and Ravit went to check out the cabin in the olive grove.
‘He insisted on going in first. He asked me to cover him. They shot him. But if he didn’t get in there, he would wipe us all out. He saved the point.
Just 72 hours ago, Ravit was photographed in Time Square celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, with his father, Shimon.
Every year, the couple traveled to the United States to sell the ritual fruits known as “etrog” (citron in English) to members of the New York Jewish community.
Ravit Hanan on the street at night. The teenager had cut short a holiday in New York to return to Israel to fight terrorists in the village of Yakhini, ten miles from the border with Gaza.
Ravit strikes a pose on a sun lounger. At his funeral in Ashdod, southern Israel, on Monday night, his commanding officer praised the teenage officer for his bravery.
Ravit smiles in his uniform. Commander Baruch Honig told the mourners. “Ravit insisted on going in first. He was killed, but he saved the unit, he saved the operation.”
But he insisted on returning to Israel three days before the end of his eight-day vacation to return to his position guarding the border with Gaza.
His heartbroken father, speaking for the first time, spoke of his bravery and devotion to his country.
Fighting back tears, Shimon Asayag told MailOnline: “My daughter wanted to be a border guard.
“I raised my children to do their duty for the nation.
‘However, he didn’t have to do military service, he could have some other kind of national service.
‘But he insisted on joining the combat unit. He wanted to protect our country, to protect Israel.”
Sitting on the floor of the family’s modest home in Ashdod, south of Tel Aviv, Mr. Assayag, a 63-year-old businessman, told how he urged his daughter to stay with him in New York and see the religious holiday.
He said. “Every year I go to New York, Brooklyn and take etrog fruit for Sukkot, and Ravit often comes with me.
‘But this year he told me he had to come home. I said, why don’t you stay until the end of Sukkot?
‘But he insisted on coming back. He told me. “Dad, I have another family now, their name is the Border Police, I have to go back to them.” In New York, she was called the “Iron Woman”.
He added: “He was so talented. He was only 19, but I didn’t have to support him anymore. She was a singer and songwriter, a professional makeup artist. He had his whole life ahead of him.”
Ravit joined the Israeli Border Guard just nine months ago. He was the third of his siblings to join the Israeli army.
Ravit Assayag’s sister Eden Assayag in the bedroom of a deceased relative
Shimon Assayag, father of Ravit Assayag
Rawit’s mother, Ruthie Assayag, and sister, Eden Assayag
Shimon Asiyag, father of Ravit Hana Asiyag
His mother, Ruthie, told MailOnline: “I have three children in the army, including Ravit – army, navy, air force.
“Another one (of my children) should be drafted in July. I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening.
‘I told Ravit that he was putting himself at risk by joining that unit. But he wasn’t listening.
“He said. “People say I’m strong, but how heroic can I be?”
As relatives and friends gathered at Asayag’s home to offer their condolences, members of his unit joined the mourners.
Dawn against the city skyline at night. Ravit insisted on returning to Israel three days before the end of the eight-day Sukkot holiday from a trip to the US to return to his post guarding the border with Gaza.
Early night on the road to the city
Ravit and other border guards. Ravit joined the Israeli Border Guard just nine months ago. He was the third of his siblings to join the Israeli army
Israeli border guard Ravit’s colleagues
Night in Ravit
Early night on the road
Ravit’s father, Shimon Asayag, holding his picture
His brother Maor, who serves in the Israeli Navy, said: “He never said a bad word against anyone. Even when the police were insulted, he refused to say a bad word. He never complained.”
Her sister Eden described the paintings that Ravit had put on her bedroom wall as her own “Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial,” commemorating Jews killed by their oppressors.
The bravery shown by Ravit and his friends was praised by an Israeli official who claimed they had prevented further deaths in the neighboring settlement of Ofakim.
MP Almog Cohen said. “The border police of the southern region, if they were not there, we would have counted hundreds of dead bodies here in Ofakim.”