An Israeli man who was critically wounded while trying to stop attackers during a deadly assault on Sydney’s Bondi Beach returned to Israel on Friday for further medical treatment, three weeks after the attack.
Gefen Biton, 30, arrived at Ben Gurion Airport aboard a special medical evacuation flight and was transferred to Sheba Medical Center. Doctors said his condition has improved in recent days, though he remains in serious condition.
Israeli critically wounded in Bondi Beach attack flown home for treatment
Biton was shot while rushing toward one of the attackers during the assault, in which 15 people were killed. Footage filmed by a bystander shows Biton running toward an attacker before being shot. He was hit in the abdomen and, after falling to the ground, was shot again in the pelvic area.
During the chaos, Biton became separated from a friend who had been with him at the event. At the same time, his sister received a phone call from him in which he could be heard shouting, “They shot me, they shot me.”
The medical evacuation was carried out by Hatzalah Air, an organization specializing in long-range medical airlifts. The aircraft landed at Ben Gurion Airport early Sunday after flying Biton from Sydney via Bangkok. The mission involved about 40 hours of flight time.
The plane had earlier departed from New York, flew to Honolulu, then to Sydney before beginning the return journey to Israel. The organization’s chairman, philanthropist Eli Roe, personally piloted the medical ambulance aircraft, which is capable of flying up to 14 hours nonstop.
Biton had been living and working in Australia for the past three years on a temporary visa. He attended the candle-lighting event at Bondi Beach last month with a close friend. After initially fleeing when the attack began, he turned back toward the scene, where Syrian migrant Ahmad al-Ahmad was also seen confronting one of the attackers.
During his hospitalization in Sydney, Biton underwent eight surgeries. Earlier this week, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke visited him and informed him that the government had decided to grant him permanent residency.
The evacuation mission, which cost several hundred thousand dollars, included an eight-member medical and flight crew, among them an intensive care physician, nurses and paramedics.
“Three days, 40 hours, one life saved,” Roe said after the plane landed. “We would do anything to save him. We are deeply moved to be here in Israel and pray for his full recovery.”
Dr. Aharon Adler, chief executive of Hatzalah Air, said the organization operates air ambulance planes and helicopters in the United States and Mexico and carries out international missions, focusing on patients without adequate insurance who require urgent care. The organization’s Israeli branch has been operating since 2021 in cooperation with Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service.