An IDF career soldier was stabbed multiple times in a terror attack in the Jordan Valley on Sunday morning after stopping near a shopping center while traveling with his pregnant wife for an anniversary vacation.
The victim, Elchanan Chanania, was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Yerushalayim, where his condition stabilized. His brothers said he was expected to undergo surgery.
Chanania’s brothers, Shlomo and Yosef, said the couple had been heading to northern Israel for a family getaway marking their wedding anniversary when they stopped along the way.
According to the brothers, Chanania got out of his vehicle to purchase cigarettes when the terrorist came up behind him and attacked. They said he was stabbed three times in the shoulder and twice in the back before the assailant escaped.
“We hope they catch him and give him the death penalty. Am Yisrael Chai,” the brothers said, urging security forces to quickly locate the attacker.
Magen David Adom received the initial report of the stabbing at 9:18 a.m. Paramedics, together with IDF personnel, treated Chanania at the scene for penetrating wounds before transporting him by intensive care ambulance to Shaare Zedek.
MDA emergency medic Gal Shani said Chanania remained conscious throughout the initial treatment.
“We received a report about a man who had been stabbed,” Shani said. “We met the wounded man, who was fully conscious and suffering from a stab wound to his upper body. We provided medical treatment and evacuated him in an intensive care ambulance to the hospital in moderate condition and fully conscious.”
A preliminary police probe found that Chanania had pulled over on Route 90 near a commercial center and was outside his vehicle when the terrorist approached from behind, stabbed him and fled.
Security forces immediately launched an extensive search for the attacker. IDF troops and police established roadblocks around Al-Auja and nearby communities as forces began combing the area.
The IDF later said the search had expanded across the Al-Auja and Jericho areas, with soldiers questioning suspects and collecting intelligence that could lead them to the terrorist.
Military officials said forces were also remaining in continuous communication with residents and local security personnel as the manhunt continued.
Police officers from the Jordan Valley station, along with forensic teams from the Judea and Samaria District, opened an investigation and began gathering evidence from the scene of the attack.
{Matzav.com}
