Hamas Militants Opened Fire at Muslim Doctor, Took Him Hostage and Used Him as Human Shield During Attack in Israel's Ashkelon: Report
A Muslim doctor was shot at and held hostage by Hamas militants who had disguised themselves as Israel Defence Forces soldiers.
Tel Aviv, October 12: A Muslim doctor was shot at and held hostage by Hamas militants who had disguised themselves as Israel Defence Forces soldiers. They also used the doctor, identified Dr. Tarek Abu Arar, as a human shield. The incident took place when the doctor was on the way to hospital in Ashkelon, a coastal city near the Gaza border.
NewYork Post reported that Dr Arar’s nightmare began when he came across a person who seemed injured on the side of the road while he was on his way to the hospital. “At that moment, there had been no reports of any infiltration,” recounted Dr. Abu Arar. “Thankfully, we had just had a ‘red alert’ siren about 20 minutes earlier so I had decided to wear my bulletproof vest. But I initially thought it was a routine car accident so I stopped on the side of the road in order to help.” Shani Louk Alive? German Tattoo Artist, Who Was Paraded Naked and Believed To Be Killed in Hamas Attack, Is Still Alive, Says Her Mother (Watch Video).
A man dressed in an IDF uniform about 160 feet away began “gesturing” Abu Arar to help but when he was about 30 feet away, “he suddenly shot me in the chest. I started shouting and praying, convinced that I was about to die,” he said. Israel-Hamas War: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Says ‘Every Hamas Is a Dead Man’ at Announcement of National Emergency Government (Watch Video).
Dr Arar continued “i thought he was a soldier who had mistaken me for a terrorist. Then I heard someone say in Arabic ‘Stop, stop, he is an Arab’. This is when I understood they were Hamas terrorists. As I looked back, about 10 additional men in military attire came out from behind the bushes and started interrogating me in Arabic. They asked me questions to check my knowledge of Islam. They had Kalashnikovs and very advanced military equipment and were wearing green uniforms that looked similar to IDF uniforms.”
They attached the doctor to a pole in the center of the junction and announced that they have a hostage and the IDF cannot kill them from air now.
When the IDF forces arrived and shoot out began, one militant shot Arar in leg and signaled with his hand that the next bullet would be in his head.
Arar’s nightmare finally ended when Yamam commando force arrived, “eliminating” every terrorist and rescuing Abu Arar. They applied a tourniquet to his leg before he was transported to Soroka Hospital, where he was treated and later released.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 12, 2023 08:36 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).