A Muslim doctor who normally comes to the rescue of others had to be rescued himself when he was shot and held hostage by Hamas terrorists disguised as Israel Defense Forces soldiers and used as a human shield.
When Hamas launched its terror campaign in Israel on Saturday morning, Dr. Tarek Abu Arar, 33, was instantly caught in the surprise attack as he headed to his shift in the emergency room at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, a coastal city near the border with Gaza.
As the United Hatzalah volunteer medic approached an intersection near Sderot, he encountered someone who appeared to be injured on the side of the road next to a 4×4 vehicle.
“At that time, there had been no reports of any infiltration,” said Abu Arar, who heard the country’s “red alert” siren about 20 minutes earlier, prompting him to make what would be a life-saving decision.
“Fortunately… I had decided to wear my bulletproof vest,” he said, adding that he assessed the situation as a routine car accident and decided to help.
Dr. Tarek Abu Arar, 33, was instantly caught in the surprise attack as he headed to his shift.
That’s when the doctor, one of four United Hatzalah volunteers injured in Saturday’s conflict, learned he had been tricked.
Someone dressed in an IDF uniform about 160 feet away began “gesturing” for Abu Arar to help, he said, according to an email from the medical services organization. When he was about 30 feet away, “he suddenly shot me in the chest. “I started screaming and praying, convinced that he was about to die,” he said.
“I thought it was a soldier who had mistaken me for a terrorist.”
He heard a man say in Arabic: “Stop, stop, it’s Arabic.” “That’s when I understood they were Hamas terrorists.”
Someone dressed in an IDF uniform began “gesturing” for Abu Arar to help. AFP via Getty Images Abu Arar said his uniforms were strikingly similar to IDF uniforms. ZUMAPRESS.com Hamas terrorists interrogated Abu Arar about his understanding of Islam.ATEF SAFADI/ EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
It was then that Abu Arar said that about 10 more men in military attire emerged from the bushes and descended on him, interrogating him in Arabic.
“They asked me questions to check my knowledge of Islam. They had Kalashnikovs and very advanced military equipment and wore green uniforms that looked like IDF uniforms,” said the doctor, who specializes in internal medicine.
“They tied me to a post in the center of the intersection and said, ‘That’s it, we have a hostage. The IDF can’t take us out of the air anymore,’ and they started shooting at all the cars passing through the intersection, making sure to kill all the occupants of the cars,” said Abu Arar, who was forced to watch the carnage for two hours. .
The worst attack on Israel in 50 years: how we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip more than three decades after seizing the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: The terrorist group Hamas wins the Palestinian legislative elections.
2007: Hamas takes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launches a military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fire rockets at the city of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches largest attack on Israel in 50 years.
More than 1,200 Israelis have been killed, more than 3,000 wounded and at least 100 taken hostage, with the death toll expected to rise after Hamas terrorists fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of militants into Israeli cities. .
Hamas terrorists were seen taking women hostage and parading them down the street in gruesome videos.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced “We are at war” and promised that Hamas would pay “a price it has never known.”
Gaza health officials report that at least 1,050 Palestinians have been killed and more than 5,000 injured.
“It was horrible… The army arrived at the scene and there was a shootout between the terrorists and the soldiers, with me in the middle.”
A Hamas terrorist shot Abu Arar in the leg “at close range” “and signaled with his hand that the next bullet would be to my head,” he added.
“I started bleeding a lot. All this time I was praying for a miracle. “I was convinced I was about to die.”
About 45 minutes after the IDF forces withdrew, a Yamam commando force (Israel’s National Counter-Terrorism Unit) arrived, which “eliminated” all the terrorists and rescued Abu Arar. A tourniquet was applied to his leg before being transported to Soroka Hospital, where he was treated and later released.
Once the army arrived, there was a shootout between them and the Hamas terrorists.REUTERS Abu Arar was transported to Soroka Hospital, where he was treated and later released.ZUMAPRESS.com Maor Shalom, another United Hatzalah volunteer, died trying to save lives. him after being called up as part of Israel’s security forces.ZUMAPRESS.com
“This was the worst experience of my life,” said the doctor, who is recovering at his home in Arara BaNegev and thinking about a fellow Muslim volunteer from United Hatzalah, who was wounded and kidnapped by Hamas while providing medical coverage at the festival of music where 260 revelers were murdered on Saturday.
“I have dedicated my life to helping others and saving lives, both in my profession as a doctor and in my volunteerism with United Hatzalah,” Abu Arar said.
“Being forced to witness the horrific slaughter carried out before my eyes was terrible. I do not have words to describe it. “Just terrible.”
Maor Shalom, another United Hatzalah volunteer, died trying to save lives after being called up as part of Israel’s security forces.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn