Suspect arrested for assaulting Tel Aviv hospital guards, search on for 4 others

Police on Thursday arrested one of five men suspected of attacking guards at a hospital in Tel Aviv, beating them and breaking their limbs.

The suspect, 30, is a resident of the central town of Rishon Lezion, Channel 2 news reported.

Three security guards at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital suffered light-to-moderate injuries overnight Wednesday-Thursday when attacked and beaten by five relatives of a disgruntled patient, hospital officials said.

Video of the attack showed the guards being surrounded and kicked and punched by the attackers. The hospital said that the medical and nursing staff were “stunned and frightened by the violence.”

Two other suspects in the incident, a father and daughter, were arrested earlier in the day and their remand was extended until Monday. Police were searching for the other four suspects who beat the guards.

Staff held a demonstration outside the ER unit on Wednesday to protest a recent spate of attacks on medical personnel in hospitals.

The incident began around 3 a.m. when the patient, a 19-year-old female from Jaffa, complained to hospital staff at the emergency room about the quality of her treatment.

The young woman, who was escorted by her father, also attempted to grab a nurse’s cellphone, leading security guards to intervene.

The woman is believed to have then contacted other members of her family. Half an hour later, five relatives of the patient drove up to the entrance to the ER and confronted security guards inside who prevented them from reaching the medical staff. The men attacked and beat the guards, and then fled the scene. According to the television report, one of the men may have been carrying a gun.

Guards who followed them outside in attempt to prevent them leaving were further assaulted and suffered light to moderate injuries including broken teeth and fractures.

The patient and her father were arrested following the attack and were questioned over their involvement.

Channel 2 reported that sources in Ichilov hospital said that the woman had in the past threatened staff and doctors.

Earlier this month a woman hospitalized at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center beat a nurse unconscious and inflicted injuries to her upper body that required medical treatment. The assailant was arrested.

Police noted that in three recent incidents in which patients attacked hospital staff there were swift indictments and suspects were held until the end of proceedings.

In March a Holocaust survivor burned to death a nurse. According to the court indictment, Asher Faraj became angry after the flu shot he received from the nurse made him feel weak and unwell.

Faraj told police he didn’t intend to harm anyone, but merely to cause damage to property at the clinic.