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Yerach Toker, a paramedic for United Hatzola of Israel, said he saw several dead yeshiva students on the library's floor. "Some of them were still holding sacred Jewish books smeared with blood from which they were learning before they were murdered." (Photo GPO)
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Blood on the floor of the library (GPO)
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| By Israel Insider staff March 7, 2008 |
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| Rescue worker shows the bullet hole in the garment worn by one of the students (GPO) |
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There were chilling accounts of the carnage inside the religious school library after an Arab gunman opened fire on students learning there, murdering eight, wounding eight, expending more than 500 bullets in the massacre before being shot by a student.
Yehuda Meshi Zahav, head of the Zaka rescue service, entered the library after the attack. "The whole building looked like a slaughterhouse. The floor was covered in blood. The students were in class at the time of the attack," he said. "The floors are littered with holy books covered in blood."
"There were horrendous screams of 'Help us! Help us!'" recounted Avrahami Sheinberger of the ZAKA emergency rescue service, one of the first to respond to the scene. "There were bodies strewn all over the floor, at the entrance to the yeshiva, in various rooms and in the library."
The director of the yeshiva, Rabbi David Simchon, said the students had been preparing a celebration for the new month on the Jewish calendar, Adar, which includes the holiday of Purim. "I think the terrorists knew that this was Rosh Hodesh Adar, which is a [time of] great joy. I don't know if they directed themselves toward our celebration. We were planning to have a Purim party here tonight and instead we had a massacre," Simchon told Channel 2 television.
"They wanted to bring an end to our happiness," he said. "The succeeded in ending this evening for us, but they will not destroy our faith or the justice of our cause."
Ariel, a student at the yeshiva, said he at first thought the gunfire was sounds of holiday noisemakers. "I at first thought it was the sound of Purim firecrackers," he said. "We ran to one of the rooms, because we couldn't reach the exit. We brought some 20 guys into one of the study rooms, and blocked the door with two tables."
"We heard the sound of nonstop gunfire and guys' screaming," he continued. "We were afraid the terrorist would come into the room."
"The fear was terrible," said Ariel. "We heard an exchange of fire, and the guy [who killed the terrorist] came and confirmed the area was clear. We understood we could leave. The scene was difficult."
"I heard an explosion and I quickly understood that this was gunfire," said Nuri Davidov, 21. "We hid in a room and, from a window, we could see the terrorist opening fire at other students."
"We had just finished evening prayers and suddenly we heard a burst of gunfire," said Dr. Yitzhak Luber, who was attending a class at the yeshiva. "We all immediately ducked on the floor."
Rescue workers recounted a grisly picture of students hiding under desks and locking themselves in classrooms to avoid being caught in the hail of bullets.
Yerach Toker, a paramedic for United Hatzola of Israel, said he saw several dead yeshiva students on the library's floor. "Some of them were still holding sacred Jewish books smeared with blood from which they were learning before they were murdered," he said.
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