Ten days after he was seriously injured in the Elad terror attack, Shai Ben Shlomo, 38, regained consciousness on Sunday morning and was able to communicate a little bit with his family, Beilinson Hospital reported on Sunday.

According to the hospital, he is still in serious but stable condition. There is no change in the condition of the second wounded Elad victim, 68. He is still in serious condition and remains sedated and ventilated.

Ben-Shlomo was at the scene of the attack in the public park with four of his children when the terrorists attacked him with the ax, leaving him with serious head wounds, as his children screamed and wailed and his blood sprayed on them. His children were not physically harmed.

Ben-Shlomo’s brother-in-law, Natanel Yakubov, said: “Even as he endured fatal blows, he tried to cause his children as little tzaar as possible. With his head cracked open, terrible wounds on his body and only half-conscious, he took his children to the side, hid them, protected them – and collapsed. Since then, my sweet nephews wake up with nightmares at night, my sister cries endlessly. All I see is depression, weeping and tzaa’r. They ruined our lives.”

Yakubov continued: “All day I think to myself – how were able to hack his head with his small children watching? How will these children recover?”

“Will Shai be able to function again? How will the family even function again?

The public is asked to daven for Shai Ben Illana l’refuah sheleimah b’toch shaar cholei Yisrael.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)