A taxi driver who was driving with his family on Highway 446 near Modi’in, were attacked by masked men after the driver had stopped the vehicle by the side of the road.

The attackers threatened the family with knives and stole the taxi leaving the family to walk to the checkpoint in the bitter cold and rain following the attack.

The driver, a man in his fifties, his wife and daughter, were treated for shock and hypothermia at the checkpoint after the soldiers called emergency services. According to reports in the Israeli media, Police and military forces are conducting scans to locate suspects and the stolen taxi.

United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Shlomi Koritz who was one of the first responders at the scene relayed: “Together with other EMS personnel I treated the three people who arrived on foot to the checkpoint in the pouring rain and cold. They were suffering from shock and mild hypothermia. After receiving initial treatment at the checkpoint they were transported to the hospital. According to the story that they told, they were forced to leave the taxi that they were traveling in and walk to the checkpoint after they were held up and the taxi was burgled by masked assailants.”