Meet the Tel Aviv attack hero who put down his schnitzel, chased down terrorists, then shot them

The terrorists who left seven dead in a knife and gun disaster were stopped by a hero who chased them in his sandals and shot one of them dead.

Lev Kreitman was eating schnitzel in the old port area of ​​Jaffa in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening when he heard gunshots.

Without hesitation, he rushed to the light rail station where the pair, Hamas members Mohammad Mesek and Ahmed Himouni, killed everyone they encountered.

Mr Kreitman, who saved 20 people from the Nova massacre last year before serving in Gaza, drew his gun and confronted the attackers, shooting one of them dead.

Footage shows him running after them while firing, forcing the other to flee. He treated the injured before emergency services arrived and the second terrorist was neutralized by security forces shortly afterwards.

Two men with guns on the streets of Tel Aviv during the attack

Incredible footage shows him running after them in his sandals as he fires, forcing the other to flee

Lev is seen taking cover after firing several shots during the attack

Authorities later confirmed that seven people had been killed and 11 injured in the attack, which came just minutes before Iran’s terrifying 180-missile attack on Israel.

Mr Kreitman says: ‘I live just above the station. I had just finished work and was hungry, so I went downstairs to the restaurant – and then I heard gunshots. I’ve been serving in Gaza for the past six months, doing reconnaissance, searching tunnels, and we lost a dear brother from our platoon, so I recognized the sound right away. It’s unmistakable.

“I carry a gun in Israel because the reality is that something will always happen and I am on reserve duty. The fact that I had come from Gaza put me on edge.’

When asked if he was a hero, he replied: ‘It’s very flattering, but it feels strange. I don’t feel like a hero.’

And about his shoes, which have gone viral in Israel, Mr. Kreitman said, “I wear these sandals all the time.”

Chilling footage shows the two terrorists stalking victims at the station during their deadly rampage just a day before the Jewish New Year.

Among their victims was Inbar Segev Vigder, 33, who was killed while protecting her nine-month-old son Ari, and astonishingly managed to protect him.

Lev Kraitman was eating schnitzel in the old port area of ​​Tel Aviv when he heard gunshots

About his shoes, which have gone viral in Israel, Lev said: ‘I wear these sandals all the time’

Magen David Adom – Israel’s national emergency services – announced that the ‘terrorist’ incident in Jaffa left several victims

It was not the first time that Lev was a hero after he saved twenty people from death at the Nova festival on October 7.

Her heartbroken husband Yeari said: “I spoke to her minutes before the attack. “I knew she was on her way home, and when I heard about the shooting, I called her, but she didn’t answer.”

He began searching desperately for his wife and child, eventually finding their son unharmed at Wolfson Medical Center. He was safe, not a scratch, because he was strapped to her in the baby carrier.

He said, ‘That is our miracle. After hours of searching, the police came to tell me that she had been murdered. She was a wonderful person, a wonderful mother who gave everything to Ari and me.”

Witness Arik Marchenkov, 22, said: ‘It’s a miracle the baby survived with all the bullets flying. The mother was hit and he was unharmed.’

Georgian truck driver Ilia Nozadze, 42, a married father of two, was shot three times and taken to hospital in critical condition, where he later died from his injuries.

Newlywed Shahar Goldman, 30, was also killed, as were mother-of-one Nadia Sokolenco, 40, Ionas Karussis, a 26-year-old dual citizen of Greece and Israel, plus Revital Bronstein, 24. The seventh victim has yet to be named become.