Hanania Ben-Shimon, 23, bravely engaged the terrorists who opened fire at cars in the middle of a traffic congestion on Highway 1 near the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim Thursday morning.
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Ben-Shimon, who was in the car with his mother, quickly responded to the threat and neutralized the terrorists despite being shot in the leg and abdomen.
'Hananua is the beautiful face of Israel'
Ben-Shimon's father Arik said that he was discharged from reserve duty last week after four months in the Gaza Strip.
"He was discharged a week and a half ago from Khan Younis after serving in the Gaza Strip in the reserves for four months. When the terrorist stopped the car on his left side and started shooting, Hanania shot him first through the window. He then got out of the car, approached, neutralized the terrorist, but was also injured himself."
According to Arik, Hanania's mother, who was in the car, was not physically injured but is in shock. "She exited the car and ran back," he explained. "My son is in moderate condition, having been hit by several bullets in the abdomen and thigh. He has no serious internal injuries, but he does have fractures. He is conscious and was able to speak to me."
Speaking to Ynet, a friend of Hanania hailed him as a hero, saying, "Hanania is the beautiful face of Israel. He returned last week from fighting in Khan Younis after several months in Gaza, obtained a firearm license to save lives, and started working as a tour security guard.
I had no doubt when I heard about the attack that if someone were to approach and risk themselves like that, it would be Hanania. He once told me how united the people of Israel are and how ready he is to risk himself for the country and the citizens. Today, those words take on a new meaning."
'It's a miracle she's alive'
Adi Zohar, a 30-year-old pregnant woman, was severely wounded in the attack. Luckily, her baby was not harmed and she remained conscious. The Trauma Unit at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem said that she had undergone surgery after being shot in the chest.
Zohar's father Eli Biton told Ynet that his daughter first thought the attack was a car accident after the car in front of her crashed into her, apparently in an attempt to create a log jam.
"The driver's door opened. He came straight toward her, and she saw he had a weapon in hand," Biton said.
"He fired a single shot at her and continued down the road. She saw him moving away and got out to alert other cars. It was a huge miracle. She was shot right in the chest, and she was the first to be shot."
Scene of the attack
Zohar's mother Ruthie added, "The writing was on the wall. We had a feeling that a disaster would happen."
Israel Adler, Zohar's manager, expressed his shock. "She had a big miracle. It might not have happened if there had been no traffic jams. She was behind the terrorists who staged an accident. The terrorist got out of the car and shot her. Injured, she tried to take cover under the steering wheel. The terrorist then moved on, and she managed to get into another person's car to seek help," he said. "The congestion delayed the ambulances' arrival. It's a miracle she survived."
Amit Ararat, a nurse at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, was at the scene of the incident and treated a woman who was wounded in the shooting.
"The injured woman got out of the car, and we began treating her," he said. "It took a few minutes to control the bleeding. She had an arterial injury in her left arm, and I informed the Hadassah team about the nature of the injury. She told me she started running and managed to see the terrorist with the gun as he was firing."
Fadi Dekaidek, a Magen David Adom paramedic who was called to the scene, told Ynet, "I arrived at a complex scene, a very difficult scene spread along the road to Ma'ale Adumim. It's a scene that's challenging to handle. We found several injured people inside cars, and several injured people outside the cars with varying degrees of injuries. Everyone received life-saving treatment and was evacuated to hospitals in Jerusalem."
Avi Hovav, the Jerusalem District head for Magen David Adom, said, "This is a scene that extends about a mile along the road leading from Ma'ale Adumim to Jerusalem, which made it difficult for us to reach the wounded. Our teams swept through the scene, we went car by car and started evacuating and treating the wounded. Due to traffic jams, we had to evacuate some of them via the opposite lane."