The terrorists who left seven dead in a knife and gun rampage were stopped by a hero who chased them in his sandals and shot one of them dead.
Lev Kreitman was eating schnitzel in the old port area of Jaffa in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night when he heard gunshots.
Without hesitating, he dashed to the light railway station where the pair, Hamas members Mohammad Mesek and Ahmed Himouni, were killing anyone they came across.
Mr Kreitman, who saved 20 people from the Nova massacre last year before serving in Gaza, pulled out his weapon and confronted the attackers, shooting one of them dead.
Footage shows him running after them as he fires, forcing the other to flee. He tended to the wounded before emergency services arrived and the second terrorist was eliminated shortly afterwards by the security services.
Lev, who saved 20 people from the Nova massacre last year before serving in Gaza , pulled out his weapon and confronted the attackers – shooting one of them dead
Two men holding weapons on the streets of Tel Aviv during the attack
Incredible footage shows him running after them in his sandals as he fires forcing the other to flee
Lev is seen running to take cover after firing several shots during the attack
Authorities later confirmed seven people had died and 11 were injured in the attack, which came just minutes before Iran’s terrifying 180-missile strike on Israel.
Mr Kreitman said: ‘I live right above the railway station. I had just finished work and was hungry so I went downstairs to the restaurant – and that is when I heard gunfire. I have been serving in Gaza for the last six months, doing reconnaissance, looking for tunnels, and we lost a dear brother from our platoon so I instantly recognised the noise. It’s unmistakable.
‘I carry a weapon in Israel because the reality is something is always going to happen and I am on reserve duty. The fact I had come out from Gaza put me on alert anyway.’
Asked if he was a hero, he replied: ‘It’s very flattering but it feels weird. I don’t feel like a hero.’
And remarking on his footwear, which has gone viral in Israel, Mr Kreitman said: ‘I always wear these sandals.’
Chilling footage shows the two terrorists stalking victims at the station on their deadly rampage just a day before the Jewish New Year.
Among their victims was Inbar Segev Vigder, 33, who was killed while shielding her nine-month-old son Ari, amazingly managing to protect him.
Lev Kraitman was eating schnitzel in the old port area of Tel Aviv when he heard gunshots
Remarking on his footwear, which has gone viral in Israel, Lev said: ‘I always wear these sandals’
Magen David Adom – Israel ‘s national emergency services – announced that the ‘terrorist’ incident in Jaffa involved multiple casualties
It was not the first time Lev has been a hero after he saved 20 people from death at the Nova festival on October 7
Her heartbroken husband Yeari said: ‘I spoke to her minutes before the attack. I knew she was on her way home, and when I heard about the shooting, I called her but she didn’t answer.’
He began desperately looking for his wife and child, eventually finding their son at Wolfson Medical Center unharmed. He was safe, not a scratch on him, because he was strapped to her in the baby carrier.
He said: ‘That’s our miracle. After hours of searching, the police came to inform me that she was killed. She was an amazing person, a wonderful mother who gave everything to Ari and to me.’
Witness Arik Marchenkov, 22, said: ‘It’s a miracle the baby survived, with all the bullets flying. The mother took the hits and he was left unharmed.’
Georgian truck driver Ilia Nozadze, 42, a married father-of-two was shot three times and rushed to hospital in a critical condition where he later died from his wounds.
Newly married Shahar Goldman, 30, was also killed, as was mother-of-one Nadia Sokolenco, 40, Ionas Karussis, a 26-year-old dual citizen of Greece and Israel, plus Revital Bronstein, 24. The seventh victim is yet to be named.
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