Elhanan Hanania, a career serviceman who was moderately wounded Sunday morning in a stabbing attack in the Jordan Valley, was traveling with his family to celebrate his wedding anniversary on a vacation in Tiberias. On the way, they stopped to buy cigarettes near the village of Auja, where a Palestinian attacked and stabbed him. The assailant was captured in the afternoon by IDF soldiers.
Waiting in the car were Hanania’s pregnant wife, their two daughters and her father. His two brothers, Yosef and Shlomo, said at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem that Elhanan had taken leave from his base to go on the trip.
Attack on Elhanan Hanania near the village of Auja in the Jordan Valley
“He now has a fracture in his shoulder and internal bleeding. They’re trying to stabilize it. He is in a lot of pain and it is hard for him to speak. He can’t manage to say what he wants," said one of the brothers. "They stopped to buy cigarettes, and when he came back to the car, the terrorist was there waiting for him. When he saw my brother turn his back, he jumped on him and stabbed him several times in the body. He struggled with him. He was terrified for the children. His wife was screaming too. His father-in-law, who was in the car, got out and the terrorist fled. The older daughter saw everything that happened.”
The attack was captured on a security camera, with footage showing the assailant attacking Hanania from behind and stabbing him. The IDF launched a manhunt that included searches in the village of Auja, Jericho and other communities in the area. Eight hours after the attack, the assailant was located, arrested and taken for questioning.
The IDF said the arrest was made possible through intelligence guidance and capabilities operated by the military and Shin Bet during the manhunt.
Scene of the attack near the village of Auja:
(Photo: MDA)
The report of the stabbing was received at 9:18 a.m. by Magen David Adom’s 101 emergency hotline in the Gilboa region. Hanania was brought to MDA teams near the village and evacuated from there to the hospital.
“We received a report about a man who had been wounded in a stabbing," MDA medic Gal Shani said. "We met up with the injured man. He was fully conscious and had suffered a stab wound to his upper body. We provided medical treatment and evacuated him in an MDA intensive care ambulance to the hospital in moderate condition and fully conscious.”
Police said that the victim "stopped his vehicle on Route 90 next to a shopping center. At one point, while he was standing outside the vehicle, a suspect who had been standing nearby attacked him from behind, stabbed him in the shoulder and then fled the scene.”