{"id":55676,"date":"2026-01-07T13:53:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T18:53:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/israeli-wounded-confronting-terrorists-in-bondi-beach-to-continue-treatment-in-israel\/07\/01\/2026\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T13:53:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T18:53:39","slug":"israeli-wounded-confronting-terrorists-in-bondi-beach-to-continue-treatment-in-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/israeli-wounded-confronting-terrorists-in-bondi-beach-to-continue-treatment-in-israel\/07\/01\/2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli wounded confronting terrorists in Bondi Beach to continue treatment in Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bitton, an Israeli who was living in Sydney, Australia, during the deadly massacre, was shot three times and underwent eight different surgeries and spent weeks in critical condition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/gefen-bitton-israeli-tried-stop-214759525.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Geffen Bitton;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Geffen Bitton<\/a>, a 30-year-old Israeli who was wounded attempting to neutralize terrorists in the deadly Bondi Beach Hanukkah attack last month, will return to Israel on Wednesday for further treatment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bitton, an Israeli who was living in Sydney, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/diaspora\/antisemitism\/article-882275\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Australia;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Australia<\/a>, during the deadly massacre, was shot three times and underwent eight different surgeries and spent weeks in critical condition. Upon improvement of his condition, though still serious, Bitton was cleared to travel back to Israel for continued treatment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">According to witness accounts, Bitton managed to escape when the terrorists commenced fire, but turned back to try and help civilians caught in the line of fire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Documentation shared on social media and in Australian media showed Bitton, a young man in a red shirt, running toward the scene of the massacre and into the shooting scene. Bitton, along with civilian Ahmed al-Ahmad, attempted to distract the assailants. He was shot three times in the confrontation with a hunting rifle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bitton was transferred to Sydney\u2019s St. Vincent\u2019s Hospital for immediate attention and underwent eight complex surgeries.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>AHMED AL AHMED, the hero of Bondi Beach, at the hospital being given a check by Zachery Dereniowski. (credit: Screenshot\/Instagram)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Israeli civilian Gefen Bitton hailed as hero in Sydney<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Relatives and friends of Bitton described fear and uncertainty as they lost contact with him immediately after the shooting. Friends of the victim told Israeli media that just minutes after the attack, they received a call from his sister, \u201cMy brother just called. He said he was shot twice, and then hung up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bitton\u2019s family was led to call different hospitals in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/diaspora\/antisemitism\/article-880283\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sydney;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Sydney<\/a> to learn the fate of Gefen, learning that he was transferred to surgery with severe gunshot wounds. His father flew to Israel shortly after.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Those closest to Bitton called for recognition of his heroism while waiting for him to be stable enough to wake up from his coma.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Australian media reported that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/diaspora\/antisemitism\/article-880787\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese<\/a> visited him in the hospital as he remained in critical condition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bitton\u2019s family said in a statement that &#8220;after a long day of hiking in the Blue Mountains, one of Gefen\u2019s favorite pastimes, all he wanted to do was celebrate Hanukkah. Sitting at the benches in Bondi with a friend, he insisted on staying until the last moment until the Hanukkah lighting was completed. Little did he know, this decision would change his life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cWhen the shooting began, Gefen jumped up with his friend and ran, but when his friend looked back just a second later, Gefen had disappeared from sight. Gefen had escaped; he was safe, but when he saw the terrorist, he ran into the line of fire to help. He made the decision to put himself at risk to save others&#8217; lives. As Ahmad al Ahmad heroically jumped on the terrorist, Gefen ran in alongside to confront the terrorist,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThere, he was shot, fell to the ground, and was shot again. Gefen put his own life at risk with his selfless actions. Gefen, an unarmed Israeli civilian living in peace in Australia, made a decision most of us couldn\u2019t even think of. He ran into the face of danger like only a hero does, guided by the values on which he was educated and raised. A true hero that deserves recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/israeli-wounded-confronting-terrorists-bondi-183121877.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bitton, an Israeli who was living in Sydney, Australia, during the deadly massacre, was shot three times and underwent eight different surgeries<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/israeli-wounded-confronting-terrorists-in-bondi-beach-to-continue-treatment-in-israel\/07\/01\/2026\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":55677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/jerusalem_post_articles_818\/da6ffa9de56550174dc72f2a0608d9ce","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55676"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}