‘A Definite Miracle’: Israeli Family Narrowly Escapes Death in Terrorist Attack

A young father was wounded and narrowly escaped death in a terrorist shooting on his family sukkah in Beit El. There were 16 people at the table.

By Terri Nir, United with Israel

Yonatan Nizari, who was sitting in his family sukkah in the biblical city of Beit El in Judea and Samaria, was hit by terrorist fire from a distance of about 300 meters on Saturday, during the festive holiday of Sukkot, Hebrew-language Ynet news reported.

His survival “was a definite miracle,” he said.

“We were sitting in the sukkah, enjoying a wonderful atmosphere. My son, who is one year and four months old, and my wife were sitting next to me. Suddenly, we heard shots, I saw smoke from the corner of the sukkah, and I realized very quickly that it was a shooting attack,” Nizari recounted.

Nizari was slightly wounded in the attack, after which one of the terrorists was killed and the other was arrested.

“I felt a blow to my jaw, and I immediately grabbed my wife and child, and we entered the house,” he told Ynet. After being seen my medics, he went to hospital for treatment.

“It’s a difficult feeling,” he said. “The transition from a holiday atmosphere to an attack atmosphere in one second is hard to digest. It could have ended differently, it’s really a definite miracle. There are gunshot marks on the chair I was sitting in, and if the bullet had been slightly deflected, it could have ended completely differently.”

His sense of security was also diminished, he told the news site.

“I was a fighter in an elite unit, and I in the IDF I felt that I gave people a sense of security. I would go home with crazy satisfaction.”

However, after his experience in the sukkah, with his wife and child also in danger, he questions whether it would have been possible to prevent the attack in the first place.

David, Yonatan’s father, said that “an IDF force has known about this squad for two weeks. The terrorists arrived by car. The snipers see them and don’t get permission to fire until they open fire and almost kill my family. There were 16 of us in the sukkah.”

An IDF spokesperson stated in response: ” The IDF soldiers who were active in the area shot at the terrorist and neutralized him. As with all terrorist incidents, the incident was clear. Later that night, the IDF forces, together with the IDF Military Police, closed a circle and arrested the other terrorist who had escaped.

“In addition, the forces located the weapon with which the attack was carried out…The IDF forces will continue to operate in the area continually in order to thwart terrorism.”

Later Saturday night, IDF forces located the weapon used by the terrorists following information that emerged in the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) investigation. The weapon, an M-16 rifle, was submitted for forensic tests.

Do You Love Israel? Make a Donation to Show Your Support!

Donate to vital charities that protect Israelis and help inspire millions around the world to support Israel too!

Now more than ever, Israel needs your help to fight and win the war -- and also the battle of public opinion.

Anti-Israel bias and boycotts are out of control. Israel's enemies effectively use social media to incite brutal terror against innocent Israeli civilians. Please help us fight back!

HELP DEFEND THE TRUTH - MAKE A DONATION TODAY