She was interviewed there just last week about her efforts to stop Israeli army bulldozers. On March 5th she said "these are homes that don't have any connection necessarily with suicide bombers. These are homes that just happened to be in a place that the Israeli military finds strategically important to them."

Rachel was with a group of Americans and Britons when she was killed.

The group had been getting in front of bulldozers for more than an hour, but this time the heavy equipment didn't stop.

"And it kept going and she tried to move back but she couldn't move back and she got caught underneath the bulldozer," says witness Joseph Smith. She was taken to Najar hospital in Rafah, where she died, said Dr. Ali Moussa, a hospital administrator.

"I can't believe that the guy didn't stop," says Rachel's long-time boyfriend, Colin Reece "I can't believe the driver didn't stop."

Israel sends tanks and bulldozers into the area almost daily, destroying buildings near the Gaza-Egypt border. According to interim peace accords, Israel controls the border area. There are almost daily clashes between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli soldiers in the area.

During her time in Gaza she kept a journal of her travels on a website. She wrote: "you just can't imagine it unless you see it." She wrote about how different her life in Olympia was from that of the Palestinian refugees.

"Rachel wanted to help other people. She believed she could stop the horrors of the Israeli occupation by placing her body between weapons and innocent people," says Reece.

As a student at Evergreen State College and as a high school student in Olympia, Rachel was active in causes for social justice.

One of her professors says Rachel knew her work was dangerous. "She was very smart and a hard worker. She was well trained to do what she needed to do."

The U.S. State Department has asked Israeli officials for a full investigation of what happened.

A spokesman for the Israeli army called the death an accident and claimed the group had gone into an area that was clearly off limits.