Two or three Palestinians opened simultaneous fire at the outpost from different directions. At least one gunman shot from nearby high ground overlooking the outpost, while one or two others stormed the temporary housing and shot at the three soldiers inside from close range.

Six of the soldiers were killed, while a seventh, who was moderately injured, was evacuated to the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer. The eighth soldier, who was the lookout, was unharmed. The assailants, who escaped toward Ramallah, were apparently uninjured, as no blood was found at the site.

In a statement to the Qatari satellite television station Al-Jazeera, Yasser Arafat's Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack, though other organizations later claimed responsibility as well. Fatah was also responsible for two fatal attacks on Monday which killed four Israelis.

Following are the names of those soldiers lost their lives in Tuesday's attack:

St.-Sgt. Tamir Atsmi, 21, from Kiryat Ono, last saw his family during the weekend. "Tamir was very gentle, he was always the first to volunteer and received all the possible decorations. He had a lot of motivation," said his mother, Rachel. Atsmi was laid to rest today in the army cemetery in Tel Aviv. He is survived by his parents.

Lt. Moshe Eini, 21, from Petah Tikva, was the third and youngest child of Nurit and Ezra. Eini graduated from the Ben Gurion high school and joined the Israel Air Force. After a few months he was transferred to serve in the Engineers Corps. "Moshe was happy, as usual. He was a person who knew how to enjoy life, loved to help others," said Eini's friend, Niv Zachenberg. He will be buried tomorrow.

St.-Sgt. Michael Hochsman, 21, from Haifa, emigrated from Russia by himself six years ago and lived in Kibbutz Sasa in the Upper Galilee. After Hochsman joined the army, his father and sister joined him in Israel. His mother stayed in Russia. According to his father Yevgeny, Hochsman was very proud to serve as a combat soldier in the army. "When I told him I was worried about him, Michael told me: 'I sat in the shelter in Sasa, and I know what it means to protect the country.'" Hochsman will be buried on Friday.

St.-Sgt. Benny Kikis, 20, from Carmiel, was the son of Margaret and Yuri, who emigrated from the Ukraine to Carmiel in 1979. Kikis was very proud to serve in the IDF and especially as an army paramedic. "Benny loved us, his parents, more than anything in the world. He was a very cheerful child and we will cherish his smile forever." Kikis was laid to rest this afternoon in the army cemetery in Carmiel. He is survived by his parents and an older brother.

St.-Sgt. Mark Podolsky, 20, from Tel Aviv, emigrated from the Ukraine with his parents and sister eleven years ago. He studied biology in high school and joined the IDF after graduation. "He was very eager to join the army and was very motivated," his parents said. Podolsky talked to his parents a few hours before he was killed and told them he was stationed outside of Ramallah. "We weren't worried because he said that it's quiet there and that they are not entering Ramallah." Podolsky, who was killed with his best friend Michael Hochsman, was laid to rest today in the army cemetery in Holon.

St.-Sgt. Erez Turgeman, 20, from Jerusalem, did not want to worry his parents and did not tell them where he was stationed. "When we heard about the attack, we started to worry. Mom tried to reach Erez on his cell phone, but there was no answer. We got the bad news at 3 a.m.," Turgeman's brother Tal said. Turgeman graduated from Ort Nevi'im high school and toured Japan before he joined the IDF. He was an enthusiastic soccer fan. Turgeman was laid to rest today in the army cemetery in Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. He is survived by his parents, Shalom and Etti, two brothers and a sister.