Today Commander Ahuva Tomer, Police Chief of the Haifa station (Israel’s largest police station) passed away from her injuries. She was one of the first to respond to distress calls on the road to Beit Oren in the beginning of the Mt. Carmel Fires. She was buried today at 3:00 PM in the Military Cemetery in Haifa. Ahuva was 52 and was the highest ranking female Police officer in the service. She was destined for great things, a leader for women in the armed forces and was loved and admired by her peers. She exemplified the bravery and dedication of a true police officer until her last minutes.

During the first hours of the Carmel Fires a TV crew on the scene recognized her and she briefly stopped to let them ask her a question. She was driving with her Operations Commander of her station, who was killed as well, and she just sped off into the flames. That was the last time she was seen unharmed. The bus as well as the police cruiser were burnt to ashes when the fire engulfed the road they were on. Fire fighters managed to get her out of her cruiser and for the past 3 days she managed to battle the burns to 80% of her body, until her condition deteriorated suddenly this morning. She is the 42nd victim of this disaster.

Eli Yishai still thinks he holds no responsibility for this. He feels the media is “lynching” him unfairly.