May 12, 2008 - Shuli Katz, 69, of Kibbutz Gevaram, was killed when a Kassam rocket fell a few meters from where she was standing in Moshav Yesha, 15 km (9 miles) east of the Gaza Strip.
Shuli Katz, a nurse by profession, had come with her son to see her sister-in-law, Leora Yunger, who was visiting from abroad. Katz was hit before she had a chance to enter the house.
It happened in an instant. One minute, Leora was in the kitchen, preparing for the long-awaited meeting with her good friend and sister-in-law. Suddenly, the warning siren wailed, there was a loud boom, and her friend lay dying on the ground. Shuli's son, Yariv, who had gone in to check that they were at the right house while his mother got out of the car, stood on the side, stunned and crying.
Leora: "We were looking forward to this meeting for a long time. We thought it would be dangerous to meet in Gevaram, so we agreed to meet here. But I didn't even get to see her. I don't know how I'm going to get over this enormous loss."
Shuli Katz was born and grew up in Kibbutz Gevaram and worked there as a nurse until she retired. Her husband died of cancer several years ago. Yariv said that she maintained her late husband's flower garden in his memory. "She loved to work in her garden; it was like one of her children," her friend Zahava related. The head of the kibbutz secretariat, Shauli Ravid, said, "She was well known and liked in the kibbutz because of her years of service to the public." About her 35 years as a kibbutz nurse, Yariv said, "She loved to help people."
Shuli's daughter Orly is married to British comedian Paul Kaye. Mr Kaye said his own children, Jordan, 16, and Geffen, one, who live with him and his wife in Hendon, North London, have taken it badly, especially since his own mother died of cancer three months ago. "Jordan is inconsolable. He has just lost two grandmothers in the space of two months. Orly is in severe shock. Her mother was such a gentle and beautiful lady and you just can’t imagine her having such a violent end." Paul Kaye added, "To think that the Palestinians were handing out sweets in Gaza after a suicide bombing, it’s sick. The idea of people celebrating Shuli’s death is just too awful."
The family had planned to go to Israel next week to celebrate their grandmother’s 70th birthday. "Instead of a party, we have a funeral," her son said sadly.
Shuli Katz was buried in Kibbutz Gevaram. She is survived by two daughters who live in England - Ronit, 46, and Orly, 43 - two sons in Israel - Yariv, 40, and Yonatan, 37 - and five grandchildren. She is also survived by her mother, 98, who lives in Netanya.