Two first responders encounter family members among the dead in Beersheba attack

Policeman who arrived at the scene discovered his sister had been killed; a paramedic realized the dying woman he was treating was his aunt

Two first responders who arrived at the scene of Tuesday’s terror attack in Beersheba discovered their close relatives among the dead or dying victims.

A police officer called to the scene found out that his sister was among the victims. A paramedic realized the woman he could not save was his aunt.

Four people were killed and two others wounded in the attack, the deadliest Israel has seen in years.

The terrorist, from the nearby Bedouin town of Hura, was shot by an armed bus driver and another passerby, before dying of his wounds.

A police statement said Commissioner Yaakov Shabtai called the officer to offer support and express his condolences.

Shabtai “stressed that the police will fully embrace him and his family and assist in any way needed,” the statement said. Mistaken earlier reports claimed the woman was the officer’s wife.

The four Israeli fatalities were later named as Doris Yahbas, 49, a mother of three, Laura Yitzhak, 43, also a mother of three, Rabbi Moshe Kravitzky, a father of four, and Menahem Yehezkel, a brother to four, 67.

Separately, a paramedic who treated victims at the scene recounted identifying his aunt.

“I was one of the first on the scene and I went to treat a victim who was unconscious. While treating her, I realized that she’s my aunt,” Yisrael Uzan was quoted saying in a statement released by the Magen David Adom emergency service.

“She didn’t have any vital signs and so I had to declare her dead. I was in shock, but I needed to keep going and treat my uncle, who was there too.”

The scene of a car ramming and stabbing attack outside the ‘BIG’ shopping center in Beersheba, southern Israel, on March 22, 2022. (Flash90)

The statement did not specify what condition Uzan’s uncle was in.

As of Tuesday evening, two of the four people killed in the attack had been identified — Dorit Yahbas, 49, from Moshav Gilat, and Rabbi Moshe Kravitzky of Beersheba.

The four victims of a terror attack in Beersheba on March 22, 2022: Laura Yitzhak, top left; Rabbi Moshe Kravitzky, top right; Doris Yahbas, bottom left; Menahem Yehezkel, bottom right. (Social media, courtesy)

The attacker has been identified as a former school teacher and Islamic State supporter who served time in prison on terror charges.

Tuesday’s rampage was the deadliest attack on Israeli civilians since June 2016, when two terrorists opened fire at Tel Aviv’s Sarona Market, killing four people and wounding 16.

It came amid a string of attacks in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and as officials warn of a possible flare-up of violence during Ramadan next month.