By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-04 13:37:33 | Updated at 2025-01-06 14:22:21
2 days ago
Two Israeli soldiers survived battles with Hamas and Hezbollah in their homeland after Oct. 7 — only to be severely injured in the ISIS-inspired rampage in New Orleans while on vacation.
The unidentified “best friends” in their mid-20s — who were traveling around the US to “clear their heads” after serving in the Israel Defense Forces reserves for more than a year — were “severely” injured after being rammed in the New Year’s Day terror attack, Israel’s consul to the Southwest United States told The Post.
“That’s the tragic irony,” Consul General Elad Shoshan said from the New Orleans hospital where the two men are being treated.
One suffered “critical” injuries, including head trauma which required two “life-saving” surgeries. He still faces more surgery for his limbs, according to Shoshan.
The second man, who was intubated until Friday morning as a precaution, is in “stable” condition, having undergone two surgeries for internal injuries.
The men were rammed by a pickup truck allegedly driven by ISIS-supporting terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar on Bourbon Street.
“They left the terror of one country and never expected to be victims of it in another,” Shoshan said of the reservists, whose families asked not to disclose their names.
The soldiers were on the second to last stop on their six-week tour of the US before returning home.
“They came here to relax, to travel. Now that’s interrupted in the most horrific way,” Shoshan said.
The gravely injured Israeli, who remains in critical condition, tried to communicate with Shoshan before the first surgery.
“He pressed my hand,” said the consul. “He’s in severe pain all over his body.”
In an emotional moment, the other soldier recited the Jewish prayer called the Shema, appealing for his friend’s full recovery.
Their stricken families who flew in to be by their side, have been supported by the local Jewish community, which numbers about 12,000.
“The road ahead will be challenging, but we remain optimistic and remain hopeful for their speedy recovery,” the father of the critically injured man told The Post.
Shoshan took notice of the shameless New Year’s Day anti-Israel rally in New York City the same day as the terror attack.
“When people chant, ‘Globalize the intifada,’ it means importing violence from one region to another. And that’s exactly what’s happening.
“They want to bring violence and terror to America,” Shoshan said.
The consul general said Israel and the US are fighting the “same ideology, the same enemy” as on Oct. 7.
“Hamas acted like ISIS, that was its inspiration – just like this terrorist.”
“We said on October 8th, the west is next,” said Shoshan. “This isn’t the first time America has suffered an [Islamic] terror attack. It will continue unless it’s eradicated completely.
“You don’t put out 50 percent of a fire. You need to fully stamp it out to make sure it never happens again.”
