Condition of bus driver stabbed in Tel Aviv attack improves
Herzl Biton, 62, on life support but stable after fighting off terrorist, getting stabbed multiple times in the abdomen
The 62-year-old bus driver seriously injured in Wednesday’s terrorist attack in Tel Aviv remained in serious condition at Ichilov Medical Center on Thursday with multiple abdominal stab wounds and injured internal organs.
Herzl Biton was in stable condition and awake, though hooked up to life support, and doctors said he’d pull through and that there was no immediate concern for his life, Ynet reported.
Another victim of the attack, a 69-year-old woman, was also in serious condition.
Doctors had feared for Biton’s life overnight, after he suffered the wounds while trying to fight off the stabber in the rush hour attack in Tel Aviv Wednesday morning.
Nineteen people in total were injured in the terror attack, which began on the #40 bus line as it passed through the busy Maariv Bridge intersection at about 7:30 a.m.
Two other victims were in moderate condition at Ichilov Medical Center after undergoing surgery. The Tel Aviv hospital treated a total of 19 victims of the stabbing spree, 15 of whom were released. Two suffered minor injuries and 13 were treated for shock.
The assailant, identified as Hamza Matrouk, 23, of Tulkarem, apparently began the attack by stabbing Biton in the chest, then began to stab others as well.
Other victims of the attack told Ynet that Biton’s resourcefulness helped them flee the bus where Matrouk allegedly stabbed a dozen people during the morning commute.
The driver grappled with Matrouk, then slammed on the brakes so the attacker stumbled on his way to stab others in the back of the bus. Biton even managed to call his family and inform them he’d been stabbed, the news site reported.
A friend told Channel 2 news Wednesday that the driver called him after being stabbed, telling him, “if anything happens, take care of my kids.”
A passenger on the bus during the attack told of the confusion as the attacker began slashing at the driver.
“I heard screams and I didn’t understand what was going on,” he said. “Everyone ran to the rear of the bus. The terrorist was half a meter from me. The driver didn’t manage to open the doors. As soon as he did everybody ran out.”
Biton’s son Yaniv told Ynet that his father’s determination was characteristic of him.
“He always gave to others and foremost attended to them,” he said. “He was a bus driver 24 years and what was important to him is that his passengers weren’t harmed.”
The driver’s niece, Heli Sousan, told reporters that her uncle sprayed the terrorist with pepper spray in an effort to fight back against the assault.
“It is awful,” she said.
