Jewish father killed in terrorist attack in Kiryat Arba
On Saturday, a Palestinian terrorist carried out a shooting attack, killing 50-year-old Ronen Hanania. Another victim, also in his fifties, was reported to be in critical condition, while another two sustained minor wounds.
Ofer Ohana, a Magen David Adom medic who arrived at the scene, was seriously wounded in the attack and was being treated at Shaare Tzedek Medical Center. He is currently in serious but stable condition.
One of the wounded was reported to be a 37-year-old Palestinian man who was treated by Magen David Adom medics but will be transferred to the Palestinian medical authorities.
The attack began when the terrorist, a Palestinian resident of Hebron who was a member of Hamas, shot at Hanania and his 19-year-old son, Daniel, while they were shopping at a convenience store between Hebron and Kiryat Araba owned by a Palestinian. The son told Channel 12 that after the terrorist opened fire, he heard his father scream.
“The bullet entered from above and his head opened up,” the young man said. “I saw him die.”
After waiting 15 minutes by his father’s side for emergency services, the young man retreated into the convenience store.
“Arabs treated my hand, one of them took a sweater and made me a tourniquet,” he told the media. “Afterward, they told us that everything was okay and that there was a paramedic for us outside.”
But when the son exited the store, the terrorist opened fire at him again. A civilian security officer rammed the terrorist with his vehicle who then shot him, neutralizing him.
When the son returned to his father, he realized he was mortally wounded.
“He was breathing, he had a pulse, but his brain had been damaged,” the young man said. “He had no chance of living. I saw my father, I was lucky to witness his final moments.”
MDA medic Yisrael Lior, who was present at the scene of the attack, described the scene.
“While I was running to get medical equipment, I heard the medic I was with shouting “I’m injured. [They’re] shooting at me,’” said Lior. “We took cover and while I was providing life-saving treatment to the medic I was with, we called in additional forces and after they arrived, we evacuated the injured person from the vehicle and the medic I was with to the hospital.”
On Sunday afternoon, Hanania was buried in Jerusalem’s Har Hamenuhot cemetery..
On Sunday morning, the IDF measure the terrorist’s house in preparation for destroying it. The terrorist’s brother was serving a life sentence in an Israeli prison before being freed and deported to the Gaza Strip in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap deal in 2011.
Arabs in Hebron celebrated the attack with fireworks.
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