Former lone soldier David Morel seriously injured in Shuafat terror attack

The 30-year-old civilian security guard moved to Israel from Brazil in 2017, serving in the IDF before taking a job as a security guard at checkpoints.

 30-year-old David Morel was seriously injured in the Shuafat terror attack on October 8, 2022. (photo credit: WALLA NEWS/COURTESY OF THE FAMILY)
30-year-old David Morel was seriously injured in the Shuafat terror attack on October 8, 2022.
(photo credit: WALLA NEWS/COURTESY OF THE FAMILY)

Civilian security guard David Morel, who was seriously injured in the Shuafat terror attack on Saturday evening, remains in a serious and unstable condition, Hadassah University Medical Center said in an update on Tuesday morning.

30-year-old Morel originally immigrated to Israel from Brazil in 2017, drafting as a lone soldier into the IDF, where he completed his service in the Search and Rescue Brigade. 

Following his service, Morel found work as a civilian security guard, first at the Jerusalem Municipality and then later at checkpoints, including the one at the entrance to the Shuafat refugee camp.

On Saturday evening, Morel was seriously injured in the Shuafat checkpoint shooting that claimed the life of 18-year-old Border Police officer Noa Lazar, and he remains sedated and on ventilation in the intensive care unit of Hadassah University Medical Center on Jerusalem's Mount Scopus.

While Morel lies in the ICU, the search for the terrorist continues, with Israeli security forces releasing a photo of the 22-year-old shooter Udi Kamel Tamimi in their appeal for information about his whereabouts. As the search for him continues, Palestinian media has reported that IDF forces are preparing for the demolition of his family's home in the Shuafat refugee camp. 

 Palestinian youths clash with Israeli security forces in the Shuafat Refugee Camp, east Jerusalem, October 10, 2022.  (credit: JAMAL AWAD/FLASH90)
Palestinian youths clash with Israeli security forces in the Shuafat Refugee Camp, east Jerusalem, October 10, 2022. (credit: JAMAL AWAD/FLASH90)

Tamimi arrived at the checkpoint in a vehicle belonging to a stranger who was under the impression that he was taking a hitchhiker to Modi'in. When the car stopped at the checkpoint, Tamimi fired seven rounds at the checkpoint until his gun jammed. He then fled on foot. The driver then turned himself in and police concluded that he did not intentionally involve himself in the attack.

Death of Sgt. Noa Lazar

18-year-old Lazar was killed while on duty at the Shuafat checkpoint, although her death was not made public by the IDF until several hours after the attack. 

 Sgt. Noa Lazar. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)
Sgt. Noa Lazar. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON UNIT)

Lazar was originally from the northern town of Bat Hefer and she served in the IDF's Military Police Erez battalion. She was promoted posthumously from the rank of corporal to sergeant. 

Ahead of her funeral on Monday, Prime Minister Yair Lapid and President Isaac Herzog both sent messages of condolences to her family, as did Defense Minister Benny Gantz.