Hatuka, Yisrael

Yisrael, son of Yonah and Moshe Hatuka, was born in 1921 in the city of Rada, Yemen. When he grew up, he decided to leave his parents’ house. In 1943 he immigrated to Israel via Eden with his wife and two sons. He worked as a construction worker and a curator and settled in his work there. Yisrael was tall and broad-shouldered, cheerful and energetic, dedicated and loyal. When he joined the ranks of the Alexandroni Brigade, he fought in the infantry.
During Operation Horev, a “liquidation operation” was carried out against the “Faluja pocket” in which an Egyptian brigade was besieged, and the attack took place on the eastern flank of the “pocket” in the area of ​​Iraq al-Manshiyya. The hill north of the village was repulsed, and in the meantime the Egyptians recovered, attacked and forced our forces back. Part of the battalion was trapped inside the village. In this battle Yisrael fell, on the 26th of Kislev 5709 (December 28, 1948). He was buried in Faluja. He left behind a wife and two sons. On the 17th of Kislev 5710 (8.12.1949) he was transferred to the military cemetery at Nahalat Yitzhak.