“We have no relief. Tomer isn’t coming back and we will never have relief,” Tal Morad, the sister of Tomer Morad, who was killed in the 2022 terror attack at a bar on Dizengoff Street, told ynet after the killing Friday of Fathi Hazem, the father of the terrorist who carried out the attack, Ra'ad Hazem.
“It makes us happy to know that a man who sowed so much hatred and evil among his own community is no longer alive,” she said.
“The first thing I did was check that none of our forces had been hurt,” Morad said. “To make sure there were no casualties. Revenge like this is not worth another family being destroyed. That’s the only relief, that there were no casualties.
“We miss Tomer and think about him every day and every moment. We are living that night of April 7, 2022, and praying that no other family will ever have to live the nightmare we are living. Tomer isn’t coming back. This circle will not be closed, but at least that damned man is no longer alive. That is not a consolation for us. Maybe this operation prevented painful attacks against our people in the future.”
Ra'ad Hazem, the terrorist, and his father, Fathi Hazem. 'It makes us happy to know that a man who sowed so much hatred and evil is no longer alive'
Tomer’s mother, Eti, added: “What matters most is that nothing happened to our forces and everyone returned safely. That is the most important thing above all. We don’t concern ourselves with the terrorist or his family and everything that happens to them. It’s very difficult to concern ourselves with that. We mainly focus on and live with our loss. I’m OK with him being killed, if only so there won’t be more families like ours.”
The IDF spokesperson said Friday night that an armed terrorist with a knife tried to stab IDF troops operating in Jenin and was killed by gunfire. There were no casualties. A security official said the terrorist was Fathi Hazem, the father of the terrorist who killed Tomer Morad, Eitam Magini and Barak Lufan at the Ilka bar in Tel Aviv. Fathi Hazem had since incited against Israel and was wanted by Israeli security forces.
Eyal Magini, Eitam’s father, said: “Anyone who incites and acts against Israel, like the terrorist who killed my son, who was only 27, as well as Tomer Morad and Barak Lufan, deserves death. Just as today the terrorist’s father tried to stab a soldier, and it’s very good that they killed him. Every dog has its day.”
Barak and Dana Lufan. 'A circle has been closed, but there is no consolation'
(Photo: From Dana Lufan's Instagram page)
Dana Lufan, Barak’s widow, spoke of her pain: “My Barak went out to have a beer with friends and was murdered in a brutal terror attack, while I and our three children — Yuval, 6, Amit, 4, and Dor, 5 months old — stayed home.
“I received the news about the killing of the murderer’s father, who was an evil man in his own right. He spoke words of hatred against the Jewish people and called for us to continue being attacked. It won’t bring our Barak back. We miss him so much and long for him every single moment.”
She added: “Today, a circle has been closed, but there is no consolation. I believe there is no place for evil in the world. The most important thing is that no soldier was hurt in the operation. The children, my family and I salute the soldiers who took part in the operation.”
Barak Lufan
(Photo: From Dana Lufan's Instagram page)
Fathi Hazem became known to the Israeli public shortly after his son’s identity was revealed. The father, a former senior officer in the Palestinian security services, began inciting Palestinians against Israel just hours after his son was killed.
In an impassioned speech from the balcony of his home that went viral among Palestinians, he told hundreds of people who had come to offer their condolences: “You will see the victory and the change in the coming years and in the coming days. Allah will cleanse the Al-Aqsa Mosque of the impurity of the occupiers.”
From that moment, immediately after delivering the speech, Hazem understood that he could be detained for questioning by Israel’s security establishment. He and his son, the terrorist’s brother, then went underground and began hiding under the protection of armed men from the Jenin refugee camp.