Nehemiah Hazan, a resident of Beit Aryeh, arrived with a friend at the Ein Raya spring near Neve Tzuf to immerse ahead of Yom Kippur. He had no idea that the site would soon become the scene of a deadly terrorist attack in which Netanel Shakron was murdered. In an interview with Arutz Sheva – Israel National News, Hazan described the moments of terror after they realized that a terrorist had arrived at the entrance to the spring.
“I came with a friend to immerse in the spring. There were other people there – four of them were carrying guns. After about half an hour, all the people with guns left. Five minutes later, we suddenly heard powerful explosions. At first, I didn’t understand what it was. I thought it was fireworks, something like at weddings, but it was so close.”
“I saw a military jeep that had been patrolling nearby. A soldier jumped out with his gun drawn. I understood that it was an attack. We didn’t know where the terrorist was or where the bullets were flying. We all hid. There was a lot of confusion. We knew the terrorist hadn’t been caught, that he had fled and was still in the area. We just wanted to get away from there.”
Only later did Hazan begin to understand how the attack had unfolded. “The terrorist encountered Netanel right at the entrance to the spring. He was coming toward us. He wanted to get to the spring, but when he saw Netanel, he turned toward him first. The soldier heard the gunfire and immediately ran toward it. If the soldier had not been there, the terrorist would have reached us. There were between ten and fifteen of us without guns, and there was nowhere to run.”
Hazan and his friend had been sitting in a particularly exposed location. “We sat in a shed in the place most exposed to the terrorist. From the entrance to the spring, he could see us. He simply attacked the person closest to him before entering the spring, and the sounds of the gunfire exposed him.”
During the attack, Hazan filmed footage from the scene that was later shared on social media. He said the video did not capture the full sense of helplessness felt by those at the site, who feared they had no way to escape. At the same time, he called the police. “I reported the incident and asked them to come quickly to save us. When the shooting stopped, I understood that there was probably a soldier there and that somehow it was already less dangerous, and that the terrorist would no longer reach us.”
After several minutes, large security and emergency forces began arriving at the scene, and those who had been hiding gradually emerged. Only then did Hazan begin to grasp the severity of what had happened. “I saw Netanel’s child. Unfortunately, he was sitting to the side and crying. We didn’t understand what was happening and thought he was in shock. When MDA arrived, I immediately directed them to him and told them to go to the child. The first thing I heard was that there was an injured person. At first, I understood that someone had been injured in the leg, and then I realized that it was a very serious injury.”
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