An Israeli soldier was stabbed on Monday evening in central Tel Aviv in an apparent terror attack. The victim, who is approximately 19 years old and was reportedly stabbed with a screwdriver, sustained light to moderate wounds on the upper portion of his body, said paramedics who treated him.
The police announced that a Palestinian suspect, approximately 19 years old from the village of Salafit north of Ramallah, is in custody. The attack was apparently terror related, the police said.
The soldier’s father, Eitan, told reporters at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital that his son ran toward him and said, “Dad, Dad! I was stabbed by a terrorist – call an ambulance!” The father then took his son to their nearby home on his motorbike and attempted to stop the bleeding with towels while waiting for the paramedics to arrive.
“It was really traumatic, I was lucky I got to him in time. He was full of blood,” the victim’s father explained. “He heard shouting behind him” – witnesses at the scene reported hearing the terrorist scream ‘Allahu Akbar’ before stabbing – “and then felt two blows to the head. He turned around and saw the terrorist, then pushed him away and ran toward the house. The terrorist entered the building and threw the screwdriver. Then a bunch of people grabbed him and overpowered him inside the building.”
“Civilians who realized what was happened chased after the suspect, arrested him and handed him over to police officers,” a police spokesperson said.
The victim was transferred to the Ichilov Hospital, where he is being treated for light wounds, the hospital confirmed shortly after the attack.