Shmuel (Sammy) Gavrielides

Son of Fanny and Leon-Yehuda, was born on January 13, 1926, in Athens, the capital of Greece. In his hometown he attended elementary and high school and during his free time played soccer a lot. When the Germans invaded Greece during the Second World War, Sami joined the ranks of the partisans. In 1946, after the end of the war, he immigrated to Eretz Israel in the framework of Aliyah Bet, illegal immigration to Tel Aviv, where he worked in the Aderet textile factory, where he joined the Palmach and underwent military training in his ranks. On May 27, 1948, Sami was one of the soldiers of the three platoons of Battalion 8 of the Negev Brigade, who went to southern Israel to attack the Egyptian enemy’s transport on the Khan Yunis-Rafah road. The force encountered a large Egyptian ambush, which was hit by heavy fire from small arms and machine guns. The commander of the force gave a withdrawal order and most of the force managed to reach the meeting place under the cover of darkness. However, three soldiers and Sammy among them turned north, and instead of reaching the old Nirim (Dangur), they made their way to the Arab village of Beit Jera. According to informants who worked for the Palmach, the three soldiers were shot to death by the Arabs of the village and buried on the banks of the wadi, and a retaliatory operation the next day did not help their comrades find the burial place and where their burial is unknown. Was established in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, and is a mikal – a space whose burial place is unknown.