One of the soldiers who were slightly injured when Palestinian terrorists shot at their bus on Sunday, was discharged on Tuesday from Haifa's Rambam hospital.
Another soldier, who was slightly injured, and the bus's civilian driver, Loran Morali, who was severely injured, are still hospitalized. The driver is still in intensive care, where he is recovering from several surgeries. The most complicated of which was performed by the mouth and jaw surgical department, since the driver, who initially was believed to have been only wounded by shrapnel, was hit directly by a bullet that shattered his face.
"The round passed from one side to the other, through the facial bones," explained Dr. Salah Nassier, who operated on Morali. During the surgery, the three-dimensional figure of the driver's face was restored. "Luckily, there was no harm to the main blood vessels in his neck, brain, or spine, what could have caused his death," the surgeon added.
On Monday, Channel 13 News revealed that the commander of the class of recruits, who were on their way to the base, fired an entire cartridge - 29 bullets - at the terrorists. The platoon commander fired five more bullets, and after injuring his finger, he pulled the bus's brakes, which prevented further injuries. In addition, the liquid that the terrorists spilled was oil and not fuel, so they were unable to set the bus on fire as they attempted to.
Meanwhile, the hunt for the third terrorist who carried out the shooting attack is continuing and the search has moved to the intelligence level. The IDF is waiting for the Shabak to provide it with the location of the terrorist, a man who carried out the attack together with his son and nephew.
IDF Chief of Staff, LTG Aviv Kohavi, addressed the current state of security, attacking the Palestinian Authority, saying: "Part of the increase in attacks is due to the inability of Palestinian security forces to properly govern in certain areas of the Judea and Samaria region. As a result, these areas become fertile ground for the growth of terrorism."
