4th Victim Of Independence Day Terrorist Attack In Elad Succumbs To His Wounds 9 Months Afterwards

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — A fourth victim of last Independence Day’s terrorist attack in Elad has succumbed to his wounds. After a nine-month battle with horrific injuries sustained during the brutal attack, Shimon Ma’atauf, a 75-year-old security guard at the entrance to the park in Elad where the terrorists perpetrated their attack, died Thursday morning at Ichilov hospital. He is survived by his wife, six children and 13 grandchildren.

Ma’atuf heard screams and tried to engage the attackers, even succeeded in firing one bullet but he was hit in the head with an ax by one of the terrorists and seriously injured. Over the last few months, his condition deteriorated and he was transferred to Ichilov Hospital until he passed away. He will be buried in Moshav Bareket, where he lived.

The other three victims who died in the attack are Yonatan Havakuk, a father of five, Boaz Gol, a resident of Elad in his 40s, and also a father of five, and Oren Ben Yiftach from the city of Lod, a father of six, Hy”d. Ben Yiftach had unwittingly given the terrorists a lift before they murdered him.

The terrorists were arrested after a three-day manhunt; they were found hiding in bushes in a nearby quarry. Assad Yussef Assad Al-Rafa’i, 19, and Sabhi Imad Sabhi Abu Shakir, 20, both of Jenin, have been in custody since and were recently indicted for the attack.