Nahariya man killed rushing family into shelter

Fatal rocket assault ends the life of Nahariya man, just meters away from his bomb shelter. Minister Pines, scheduled to visit that very shelter, changes plans at last minute. Nahariya hospital prepared for crisis situation with 600 beds underground

Aviram Zino|Published: 07.18.06 , 20:21

A 37-year-old Nahariya resident paid with his life Tuesday evening when a rocket struck him just meters from the entrance to his bomb shelter, where he stood hurrying his family inside as warning sirens shrieked through the town.

Minister Ophir Pines has been scheduled to visit that very bomb shelter, but at the last moment he decided to visit wounded in a Nahariya hospital instead.

Rocket hits Nahariya home (Photo: Niv Calderon)

Neighbors recounted that the victim was a new immigrant, who came to Israel just a few years ago from the former Soviet Union. Though he managed to save his family by rushing them into shelter, he remained outside and was struck down in the rocket assault.

Rocket Fire

Nahariya: Man killed in rocket attack

Ahiya Raved

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Nahariya: Man killed in rocket attack

Yossi Levin, who witnessed the incident, related the events: “We heard explosions from the direction of downtown, and we decided to run into the shelter. We managed to get inside, and suddenly we hear a tremendous boom. We went out, and found one of our neighbors lying there, dead. Within a few minutes Magen David Adom and police forces reached the scene."

“The children are panicked,” he admitted. “We don’t know how, after a whole week, they (the army) hasn’t managed to hit the source of the Katyusha launches on Nahariya. How long can this last?” he questioned.

Nahariya hospital prepared for crisis

Director General of the Western Galilee Hospital, Professor Shaul Shasha, said on Tuesday that the hospital treated 23 wounded, six of whom were in light condition and the rest suffered from shock. “In Nahariya one person was killed. We know him, and know his family. The body was evacuated to the Abu Kabir Institute for Forensic Medicine. The victims we treated mainly suffered shrapnel wounds to the arms and legs. I got the impression they were in light condition and there lives are not in danger.”

Direct hit (Photo: Niv Calderon)

According to the hospital director, 17 were treated for shock by a special team established for that purpose.

“I just returned from there. Most of them are calm,” Prof. Shasha said. He noted the hospital was continuing to operate under crisis protocol and were prepared for continued rocket assaults.

“Our hospital is unfortunately very experienced in crisis situations; we’ve been on the front lines for 20 years and we’ve been under fire many times before. We’ve readied ourselves for potential emergency situations and equipped subterranean medical facilities. We have 600 beds underground - but we hope we won’t have to use them all.”